KR102729837B1 - Airbag apparatus of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention relates to an airbag device for an automobile, comprising: a housing installed on a backrest of a seat; an inflator that is ignited by a detection signal of a collision detection sensor when the automobile collides and generates gas; and an airbag cushion that is accommodated in a rolled or folded state inside the housing and inflates and deploys to cover the upper body and head of an occupant by receiving the gas generated from the inflator when the automobile collides; wherein the airbag cushion is configured to inflate toward the rear of the occupant from the backrest and then inflates and deploys forward along both sides, thereby compensating for the distance between the occupant and the backrest when the automobile collides, and preventing an occupant who is rebounded by the frontal airbag from being injured due to a collision with the backrest.

Description

{AIRBAG APPARATUS OF VEHICLE}

The present invention relates to an airbag device for an automobile, and more specifically, to an airbag device for an automobile that inflates and deploys when a collision occurs in the automobile to restrain and protect the occupant.

An automobile airbag is a safety device that protects passengers by rapidly expanding the airbag by injecting gas into the airbag according to a signal from an impact detection sensor in the event of a car collision.

These airbag devices are installed on the steering wheel, dashboard, seat, side wall, etc. of a car, and inflate toward the front or side of the occupants when the car collides, protecting them.

That is, the car may be equipped with front airbags that deploy in front of the driver and passenger seats, curtain airbags and side airbags that deploy from the side of the passengers to protect them, and knee airbags to protect the passengers' knees.

Meanwhile, autonomous vehicles that can drive themselves without a driver are being developed recently.

The above autonomous vehicle uses cutting-edge sensors capable of recognizing surrounding objects and high-performance graphic processing units to detect each device installed in the vehicle and the situation around the vehicle, and controls the operation of each device installed in the vehicle based on the detection results to drive.

The above-mentioned advanced sensors measure the distance between objects and objects like a person, detect danger, and help you see all areas without blind spots. And the above-mentioned graphics processing unit identifies the surroundings of the car through multiple cameras and analyzes the images to help the car drive safely.

For example, self-driving cars may be equipped with LiDAR equipment, sonar equipment, 3D cameras, and radar equipment.

As autonomous vehicles configured in this way do not require a driver to drive, the entire seat, including the driver's seat, rotates freely, and the angle of the backrest can be adjusted to a horizontal state by tilting.

Passengers can adjust the angle of the backrest and rotate the seat to face the passenger in the back seat for a conference.

Therefore, it is impossible to apply a general airbag device designed based on the passenger's seated posture facing forward to autonomous vehicles.

The following patent documents 1 and 2 disclose a configuration of a passenger protection system for a vehicle.

Meanwhile, since passengers in self-driving cars do not drive themselves, they can swivel their seats left and right to hold meetings or recline their backs to relax while traveling to their destination.

In this way, since the seats and backrests in autonomous vehicles can rotate freely, the direction and posture of the passengers can change in various ways.

Therefore, airbag technology that can safely protect passengers regardless of their direction and posture in the event of a car collision is required.

In particular, in the event of a frontal collision with a passenger seated backwards in a normal car, as well as in a self-driving car, the frontal airbag device can inflate and deploy toward the front of the passenger to protect the passenger.

However, after the occupant hits the frontal airbag, he or she is bounced back by the airbag and then moves rearward, colliding with other parts of the car, such as the seat back or headrest.

Because of this, the airbag device of a conventional automobile may cause injury to the passenger due to rebound by the airbag.

Additionally, when the occupant rotates the seatback rearward, the space between the front airbag device and the occupant increases, which may result in the occupant not being effectively restrained and protected by the front airbag device alone.

Therefore, in the event of a car collision, there is a need for the development of a technology that can safely protect occupants by compensating for the space between the occupants and the front airbag device while rotating the occupants and the backrest rearward after colliding with the airbag.

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

The purpose of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and to provide an airbag device for a vehicle capable of safely protecting an occupant from rebound by a frontal airbag that expands and deploys in front of the occupant when a collision of the vehicle occurs.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device for an automobile capable of safely protecting an occupant by compensating for the space between the occupant and the front airbag device.

Another object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device for an automobile which can safely protect an occupant by inflating and deploying forward along both sides of the occupant along with the rear side of the occupant.

In order to achieve the above-described object, an airbag device for a vehicle according to the present invention includes a housing installed on a backrest of a seat, an inflator that is ignited by a detection signal of a collision detection sensor when a vehicle collides and generates gas, and an airbag cushion that is accommodated in a rolled or folded state inside the housing and inflates and deploys to cover the upper body and head of a passenger by receiving the gas generated from the inflator when a vehicle collides, wherein the airbag cushion is characterized in that it inflates toward the rear of the passenger from the backrest and then inflates and deploys forward along both sides so as to compensate for the distance between the passenger and the backrest when a vehicle collides and prevent the passenger, who is rebounded by the frontal airbag, from colliding with the backrest.

As described above, the airbag device of an automobile according to the present invention has the effect of safely protecting the occupant by compensating for reducing the space between the occupant and the front airbag device in the event of an automobile collision.

And according to the present invention, the effect of safely protecting the occupant is obtained by effectively cushioning the impact applied to the occupant when the occupant collides with the seat by being rebounded by the frontal airbag that expands and deploys in front of the occupant.

In addition, according to the present invention, the effect of safely protecting the passenger is obtained by restraining the upper surface and both sides of the passenger's head using an upper chamber that expands in the passenger's head area.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of an airbag device for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.
Figure 2 is a development diagram of the airbag cushion shown in Figure 1.
Figures 3 to 5 are perspective views, front views, and side views, respectively, showing the airbag cushion illustrated in Figure 1 in an inflated and deployed state.
Figure 6 is an operational state diagram showing the operating state of an airbag device of an automobile according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

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

In this embodiment, the operation when setting the autonomous driving mode is explained by using the configuration of an airbag device applied to an autonomous vehicle. However, it should be noted that the present invention is not necessarily limited thereto, and can also be applied in a manual driving mode in which a driver drives a vehicle and together with an existing airbag cushion in a general vehicle.

And although this embodiment describes a configuration installed on the backrest of a passenger seat of a typical automobile, it should be noted that the present invention can be applied not only to the driver's seat, but also to the driver's seat and the rear row seats.

Hereinafter, the direction toward the front of the car with the driver's seat as the center is called 'front', and the direction toward the rear of the car is called 'rear'. In addition, terms indicating directions such as 'left', 'right', 'up', and 'down' are defined as indicating each direction based on the front and rear.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airbag device for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an unfolded view of the airbag cushion illustrated in FIG. 1, and FIGS. 3 to 5 are a perspective view, a front view, and a side view, respectively, showing the airbag cushion illustrated in FIG. 1 in an inflated and unfolded state.

The airbag device (10) of an automobile according to the present invention is installed on a seat of an automobile as shown in FIG. 1, and expands and deploys toward the rear of an occupant who rebounds after a collision with a frontal airbag.

Accordingly, the present invention can prevent injury to an occupant due to collision with devices inside a vehicle, such as a seat backrest (11), after the occupant has rebounded from a collision with a frontal airbag.

In addition, the present invention can effectively restrain and safely protect the occupant by compensating for reducing the space between the front airbag and the occupant when the occupant rotates the backrest rearward.

To explain in detail, an airbag device (10) for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention includes, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a housing (20) installed on a backrest (11) of a seat, an inflator (30) that is ignited by a detection signal of a collision detection sensor when a vehicle collides and generates gas, and an airbag cushion (40) that is stored in a rolled or folded state inside the housing (20) and inflates and deploys to cover the upper body and head area of a passenger by receiving gas generated from the inflator (30) when a vehicle collides.

The housing (20) is formed in a roughly rectangular shape and can be stored in the upper part of the internal space of the backrest (11).

A cut line may be formed on the front of the backrest (11) so that the airbag cushion (40) can inflate and deploy forward toward the passenger.

The inflator (30) is stored in the rear of the internal space of the housing (20) and is ignited according to a detection signal from a collision detection sensor installed in the car to generate gas.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 5, the airbag cushion (40) includes a main chamber (50) that expands and deploys toward the neck and rear of the upper body of the passenger, and an upper chamber (60) that expands and deploys toward the rear of the head of the passenger, so as to wrap around and protect the head and upper body of the passenger.

In addition, the airbag cushion (40) may further include a pair of side chambers (70) that inflate and deploy toward both sides of the passenger's upper body to prevent lateral movement of the passenger.

Accordingly, a space can be formed inside the inflated airbag cushion (40) that accommodates the entire upper body of the passenger, including the head, neck, and back.

The airbag cushion (40) includes an inner panel (41) that comes into contact with the passenger when inflated and an outer panel (42) that comes into contact with the opposite side of the inner panel (41), that is, the backrest (11).

The inner panel (41) and the outer panel (42) are provided as one panel connected to each other as shown in FIG. 2, and can be formed into a bag shape by sewing or bonding along the edges while overlapping each other, or by a one-piece woven method.

For this purpose, the inner panel (41) and the outer panel (42) can be formed in a shape symmetrical to each other.

However, in the main chamber (50) area, the outer panel (42) may be formed to be longer in at least one of the horizontal and vertical lengths compared to the inner panel (41) so that it can wrap around the passenger's back when the main chamber (50) is expanded and deployed.

This main chamber (50) can be provided with a vertical length corresponding to the neck and back area of the passenger. That is, the main chamber (50) can minimize and protect the impact applied to the cervical vertebrae and spine of the passenger by expanding and deploying to the neck and back area of the passenger.

Of course, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the main chamber (50) may be modified to be extended to a length corresponding to the passenger's neck and back area as well as the waist area, as needed.

The upper chamber (60) is connected to the upper part of the main chamber (50) and can be expanded and deployed by receiving gas through the main chamber (50).

That is, the upper chamber (60) expands and unfolds between the passenger's head and the headrest (12) installed on the top of the backrest (11) to cushion the impact applied when the passenger's head hits the headrest (12).

In this upper chamber (60) area, the outer panel (42) may be formed to be longer in at least one of the horizontal and vertical lengths compared to the inner panel (41) so as to be able to wrap around the head area of the passenger when the upper chamber (60) is deployed.

Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, the upper chamber (60) may be extended to cover the upper surface and both sides of the passenger's head in order to restrain the passenger's head from moving left and right, or to cushion the impact applied by a collision with the headrest (12) during the process of the passenger's head moving rearward.

That is, the upper chamber (60) may include a rear chamber (61) corresponding to the rear of the passenger's head, an upper chamber (62) surrounding the upper surface of the passenger's head, and a pair of side chambers (63) surrounding both sides of the head.

The rear chamber (61) can be formed in various shapes, such as a polygonal shape, a circular shape, or an oval shape, in cross section to correspond to the rear of the passenger's head area.

The upper chamber (62) extends from the top of the rear chamber (61) and can expand and unfold approximately toward the front.

Here, the upper chamber (62) may be divided into a plurality of chambers by chamber walls so as to expand and develop along the upper surface of the passenger's head. For example, the chamber walls may be formed one or more in parallel along the left and right directions as seen in Fig. 2.

Therefore, the upper chamber (62) can be expanded at an angle from the upper back of the passenger's head toward the crown of the head at the beginning of the deployment, and then expanded at an angle from the crown of the passenger toward the forehead at an angle from the lower front.

In addition, one or more tether members (not shown in the drawing) that limit the unfolding shape of the upper chamber (62) may be provided inside or outside the upper chamber (62).

For example, the tether member may be configured to have a deployment shape in which both ends are connected to the front and rear ends of the upper chamber (62), respectively, so that the cross-section of the upper chamber (62) has a shape that is convex upward when viewed from one side.

The length of forward expansion of this upper chamber (62) can be varied to cover the upper surface of the passenger's head and the upper part of the forehead or face.

A pair of side chambers (63) extend from each end of the rear chamber (61) and can expand and deploy approximately forward.

Here, each side chamber (63) may be divided into a plurality of chambers by chamber walls so as to expand and expand along both sides of the passenger's head area. For example, the chamber walls may be formed one or more in parallel along the up-down direction as seen in Fig. 2.

Therefore, each side chamber (63) can initially expand forward and outwardly from the rear ends of the passenger's head toward the passenger's ears on both sides, and then expand forward and inwardly from the passenger's ears on both sides toward the front of the face.

In addition, one or more tether members (not shown in the drawing) that limit the unfolding shape of each side chamber (63) may be provided inside or outside each side chamber (63).

For example, the tether member may be configured to have a shape in which both ends are connected to the front and rear ends of each side chamber (63), respectively, so that the cross-section of each side chamber (63) forms an outwardly convex shape when viewed from above, i.e., a '( )' shape.

The length of forward expansion of each of these side chambers (62) can be varied to cover both sides of the passenger's head and parts of both sides of the face.

A pair of side chambers (70) are each connected to both sides of the main chamber (50) and can be expanded and deployed by receiving gas through the main chamber (50).

That is, a pair of side chambers (70) are expanded and deployed on the outer sides of the passenger's shoulders and upper arms, respectively, to restrain and protect the passenger's shoulders and upper arms.

In the area of these pair of side chambers (70), the outer panel (42) may be formed to have a longer horizontal length than the inner panel (41) so as to be able to wrap around the shoulder and upper arm area of the passenger when the side chambers (70) are deployed.

Accordingly, the main chamber (50) and a pair of side chambers (70) can be expanded and concavely developed to have an approximately semicircular or arc shape when viewed from above so as to completely wrap the rear and both sides of the upper body of the passenger.

Meanwhile, a plurality of tethers (not shown in the drawing) that limit the deployment shape of each chamber (50 to 70) provided in the airbag cushion (40) may be installed between the inner panel (41) and the outer panel (42).

For example, one or more tether members may be installed inside or outside a pair of side chambers (70) to limit the deployment shape of each side chamber (70) so that each side chamber (70) expands and deploys in a state in which it rotates toward the passenger about the portion where it is connected to the main chamber (50).

Both ends of the above tether member can be connected to the outer ends of the main chamber (50) and each lateral chamber (70).

Of course, the present invention is not necessarily limited to this, and the number of tether members, the location where the tether members are installed, the length and width of the tether members, etc. may be variously changed.

In addition, the present invention can be modified to limit the unfolding shape of each chamber by forming sewing lines of various patterns on the edge and inside of each chamber, in addition to the method of applying tethers and providing different horizontal and vertical lengths of the inner and outer panels.

In this way, the present invention can safely protect the occupant by compensating for reducing the space between the occupant and the front airbag device in the event of a collision of the vehicle.

And the present invention can safely protect the passenger by effectively cushioning the impact applied to the passenger when the passenger collides with the seat by being rebounded by the frontal airbag that expands and deploys in front of the passenger.

In addition, the present invention can safely protect the passenger by restraining the upper surface and both sides of the passenger's head using an upper chamber that expands in the passenger's head area.

Next, referring to FIG. 6, the operating method of an airbag device for an automobile according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail.

Figure 6 is an operational state diagram showing the operating state of an airbag device of an automobile according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention.

First, the airbag cushion (40) is manufactured in a bag shape by sewing the edges while overlapping the inner panel (41) and the outer panel (42) with the deployment state shown in Fig. 2 as the standard.

The manufactured airbag cushion (40) can be housed inside the housing (20) in a folded state in various rolling or folding manners to minimize the volume, and can be built into the backrest (11) of the seat, for example, the front upper side of the backrest (11).

Meanwhile, if a collision accident occurs while the car is driving, the airbag cushion (40) receives gas from the inflator (30) and expands to the outside of the cover of the backrest (11).

That is, the main chamber (50) is expanded and deployed on the front side of the backrest (11), and the upper chamber (60) and a pair of side chambers (70) are each supplied with gas through the main chamber (50) and expanded and deployed on the upper and both sides of the main chamber (50).

At this time, the upper chamber (60) and a pair of side chambers (70) each rotate in a downward and inward direction toward the passenger centered on the main chamber (50) to completely surround and restrain the passenger.

For example, the rear chamber (61) of the upper chamber (60) expands and expands between the passenger's head and the headrest (12) to cushion the impact applied to the passenger's head due to a collision with the headrest (12).

And the upper chamber (62) and a pair of side chambers (63) of the upper chamber (60) expand and develop forward along the upper surface and both sides of the head area of the passenger, respectively. Therefore, the upper chamber (60) restrains not only the rear surface of the head area of the passenger, but also the upper surface and both sides, thereby preventing the head area of the passenger from moving left and right, and effectively protecting it from impact applied from the outside.

In addition, a pair of side chambers (70) can wrap around and restrain both sides of the passenger's upper body.

In this way, each chamber (50 to 70) provided in the airbag cushion (40) can safely protect the passenger by preventing lateral movement of the passenger by wrapping and restraining the entire upper body and head area of the passenger as it expands and unfolds.

Meanwhile, in the case of a frontal collision of a car, the occupant moves to the front of the car. Therefore, the occupant is initially protected by the frontal airbag (80) inflated and deployed at the front, and then can be rebounded to the rear by the pressure of the frontal airbag (80).

At this time, the airbag cushion (40) expands and deploys between the passenger and the backrest (11) and the headrest (12), thereby compensating for the space between the passenger and the backrest (11) and the headrest (12), thereby minimizing the impact applied to the passenger upon rebound.

That is, the present invention can minimize the shock applied to the passenger when hitting the backrest by compensating for the space between the passenger and the backrest using an airbag cushion in the event of a collision accident while the passenger has rotated the backrest rearward.

Through the process described above, the present invention can safely protect the occupant by compensating to reduce the space between the occupant and the front airbag device when a collision of the vehicle occurs.

And the present invention can safely protect the passenger by effectively cushioning the impact applied to the passenger when the passenger collides with the seat by being rebounded by the frontal airbag that expands and deploys in front of the passenger.

In addition, the present invention can safely protect the passenger by restraining the upper surface and both sides of the passenger's head using an upper chamber that expands in the passenger's head area.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiments, and it goes without saying that various modifications can be made without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

The present invention is applied to a technology for an airbag device of an automobile, which safely protects an occupant by compensating for reducing the space between the occupant and the front airbag device when a collision of the automobile occurs.

10: Airbag device of automobile
10: Airbag device of automobile
11: Backrest 12: Headrest
20: Housing
30: Inflator
40: Airbag cushion
41,42: Inner, outer panels
50: Main Chamber
60: Upper chamber 61: Rear chamber
62: Top chamber 63: Side chamber
70: Lateral chamber
80: Front airbag

Claims (8)

A housing installed on the backrest of the seat,
An inflator that generates gas by being ignited by a detection signal from a collision detection sensor when a car collides.
It includes an airbag cushion that is stored in a rolled or folded state inside the housing and inflates and deploys to cover the upper body and head of a passenger by receiving gas generated from the inflator when a collision of the vehicle occurs.
The above airbag cushion has a main chamber that inflates and deploys toward the passenger's neck and the rear of the upper body.
An upper chamber that expands and deploys toward the back and upper surfaces and both sides of the passenger's head from the upper part of the main chamber;
It includes a pair of side chambers that expand and deploy toward both sides of the upper body of the passenger on both sides of the main chamber to prevent lateral movement of the passenger.
The upper chamber corresponds to the rear of the passenger's head,
The upper chamber that covers the upper surface of the passenger's head and
Contains a pair of side chambers that surround both sides of the rider's head area,
The above airbag cushion is an airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that it inflates toward the rear of the occupant from the backrest and then inflates forward along both sides to compensate for the distance between the occupant and the backrest in the event of an automobile collision, and prevents the occupant rebounding by the frontal airbag from being injured due to a collision with the backrest. delete In the first paragraph,
The upper chamber is supplied with gas from the main chamber and expands forward along the upper surface of the head of the passenger based on the portion connected to the main chamber to wrap around the head of the passenger.
An airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that the above pair of side chambers are supplied with gas from the main chamber and inflate and deploy forward along the lateral sides of the head of the passenger relative to the main chamber. delete In the first paragraph,
An airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that the above pair of side chambers rotate inward toward the passenger based on a portion connected to the above main chamber to inflate and deploy. In the first paragraph,
An airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that the upper chamber and a pair of side chambers are each supplied with gas generated from the inflator through the main chamber and inflate and deploy. In any one of paragraphs 1, 3, 5 and 6,
An airbag device for an automobile, characterized in that each chamber provided in the airbag cushion has its deployment shape limited by one or more tether members installed internally or externally. In Article 7,
The above airbag cushion is manufactured in a bag shape by sewing an inner panel that comes into contact with the passenger and an outer panel that is placed on the opposite side of the passenger.
An airbag device for an automobile, wherein the outer panel of each chamber is formed to be longer in at least one of a horizontal length and a vertical length than the inner panel in each chamber area.

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