Steering wheel airbag

Abstract

The present application provides a steering wheel airbag, which belongs to the technical field of safety airbags. Specifically, the airbag is folded and stored in the hub of the steering wheel. The airbag can be inflated to an expanded position and has a main chamber supported by the hub. The main chamber in the expanded position has a rear panel facing the steering wheel. A support chamber is provided on the rear panel. The support chamber has a first end connected to the main chamber. After the support chamber extends from the first end to the steering wheel side, the support chamber is bent along the middle to form a bent portion and then the second end is closed and fixed to the rear panel. The bent portion abuts against the upper edge of the hub and / or the steering column to provide reaction force support for the main chamber. Through the processing scheme of the present application, by forming a support chamber with a small inflation volume and excellent support effect and only abutting against the upper part of the steering wheel hub and / or the steering column, the self-support of the airbag on the steering wheel and the versatility of the airbag design are achieved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present application relates to the field of safety airbags, and in particular to a steering wheel airbag. Background Art

[0002] With the introduction of steering wheel designs such as yoke steering wheels and folding steering wheels where the size of the rim is greatly reduced or reduced, the new steering wheel design means that when the DAB is deployed, the airbag interacts much less with the steering wheel; thereby reducing the restraint performance of the DAB and causing uneven damaging loads on the occupants.

[0003] Existing airbags often use an additional larger chamber with the steering wheel and / or instrument panel support to provide additional support for the airbag. This interaction is intended to compensate for the reduction in contact surface inherent in the steering wheel where the rim size is greatly reduced or cut, and provide good restraint performance for the occupant.

[0004] However, in existing designs, steering wheels are gradually miniaturized and simplified, and the installation space of airbags is reduced accordingly. Against this background, it is also necessary to design the above-mentioned larger supporting chamber, which brings great difficulties to the design of such steering wheel airbags, and the ideal design effect cannot be achieved in terms of comprehensive performance. Summary of the invention

[0005] In view of this, the present application provides a steering wheel airbag that solves the problems in the prior art by forming a support chamber with a small inflation volume and excellent support effect and only abutting against the upper part of the steering wheel hub and / or the steering column, thereby achieving self-support of the airbag on the steering wheel and the versatility of the airbag design.

[0006] The present application provides a steering wheel airbag adopting the following technical solution:

[0007] A steering wheel airbag, folded and stored in a hub of the steering wheel, the airbag can be inflated to an expanded position and has a main chamber supported by the hub, the main chamber in the expanded position having a rear panel facing the steering wheel, the rear panel being provided with a support chamber;

[0008] The support chamber has a first end connected to the main chamber. After the support chamber extends from the first end toward the steering wheel side, the support chamber is bent along the middle to form a bent portion and then the second end is closed and fixed to the rear panel. The bent portion abuts against the upper edge of the wheel hub and / or the steering column to provide reaction force support for the main chamber.

[0009] Optionally, the fixing points of the first end and the second end of the support chamber on the rear panel are both located above the upper edge of the hub, and the fixing points of the first end and the second end of the support chamber on the rear panel are distributed along the contour of the upper edge of the hub and are relatively arranged with the center of the contour of the upper edge of the hub.

[0010] Optionally, the first end portion is arranged on a side close to a body side portion of the vehicle relative to the second end portion.

[0011] Optionally, the supporting chamber is formed by bending a cavity that is inflated in a natural state and presenting a three-dimensional long strip shape and fixing both ends.

[0012] Optionally, starting from an end surface of the first end portion, at least a portion of the support chamber extends toward the steering wheel side in a direction perpendicular to the rear panel.

[0013] Optionally, a through hole connected to the first end is provided on the rear panel, and a gas check structure is provided on the through hole, so that the gas in the main chamber forms a one-way flow from the main chamber to the support chamber.

[0014] Optionally, the gas check structure includes a conical fabric check valve connected to the through hole, the large diameter end of the fabric check valve is connected to the through hole, and the fabric check valve extends from the through hole into the support chamber.

[0015] Optionally, a rim opening is provided on the steering wheel.

[0016] Optionally, the support chamber contacts the upper edge of the hub at the initial stage of inflation, and the support chamber completes inflation in a state of abutting against the upper edge of the hub.

[0017] In summary, this application includes the following beneficial technical effects:

[0018] The present application forms a support chamber with a small inflation volume and excellent support effect. The support chamber is only supported on the upper edge of the wheel hub and / or the steering column. The upper edge of the wheel hub and / or the steering column provide support for the support chamber, so that the support chamber can form support for the upper part of the main chamber to prevent the main chamber from tilting forward excessively, so as to better restrain the occupants. The airbag of the present application can be applied to steering wheels with an opening on the upper rim, yoke steering wheels, folded states of folding steering wheels, etc., which lack sufficient support for the upper part of the airbag. At the same time, the airbag of the present application is self-supporting on the steering wheel without relying on the support of other components such as the dashboard and the upper rim. The present application improves the versatility of the design of steering wheels that lack an upper rim while ensuring the protective effect of the steering wheel on the occupants. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0019] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present application, the drawings required for use in the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings described below are only some embodiments of the present application. For ordinary technicians in this field, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without paying creative work.

[0020] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the steering wheel airbag of this application;

[0021] Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the steering wheel airbag of this application from another perspective;

[0022] Figure 3 This is the inflated state when the second end of the supporting chamber of the present application is not fixed;

[0023] Figure 4 This is a structural diagram of the initial state of the support chamber of this application;

[0024] Figure 5 This is a structural diagram of the state of the supporting chamber in the later stage of inflation of this application;

[0025] Figure 6 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fabric check valve of this application.

[0026] Explanation of the accompanying drawings: 1. Steering wheel; 11. Wheel hub; 2. Main chamber; 21. Through hole; 22. Rear panel; 3. Support chamber; 31. First end; 32. Bending portion; 33. Second end; 4. Fabric check valve. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0027] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0028] The following describes the implementation methods of the present application through specific examples, and those skilled in the art can easily understand other advantages and effects of the present application from the contents disclosed in this specification. Obviously, the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of the present application, rather than all the embodiments. The present application can also be implemented or applied through other different specific implementation methods, and the details in this specification can also be modified or changed in various ways based on different viewpoints and applications without departing from the spirit of the present application. It should be noted that, in the absence of conflict, the following embodiments and the features in the embodiments can be combined with each other. Based on the embodiments in the present application, all other embodiments obtained by ordinary technicians in the field without making creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present application.

[0029] It should be noted that various aspects of the embodiments within the scope of the appended claims are described below. It should be apparent that the aspects described herein can be embodied in a wide variety of forms, and any specific structure and / or function described herein is merely illustrative. Based on the present application, it should be understood by those skilled in the art that an aspect described herein can be implemented independently of any other aspect, and two or more of these aspects can be combined in various ways. For example, any number of aspects described herein can be used to implement the device and / or practice the method. In addition, other structures and / or functionalities other than one or more of the aspects described herein can be used to implement this device and / or practice this method.

[0030] It should also be noted that the illustrations provided in the following embodiments are only schematic illustrations of the basic concept of the present application. The drawings only show components related to the present application rather than being drawn according to the number, shape and size of components in actual implementation. In actual implementation, the type, quantity and proportion of each component may be changed arbitrarily, and the component layout may also be more complicated.

[0031] Additionally, in the following description, specific details are provided to facilitate a thorough understanding of the examples. However, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that the aspects described may be practiced without these specific details.

[0032] An embodiment of the present application provides a steering wheel airbag.

[0033] like Figure 1 and Figure 2 As shown, a steering wheel airbag is folded and stored in the wheel hub 11 of the steering wheel 1, the airbag can be inflated to an expanded position, and has a main chamber 2 supported by the wheel hub 11, the main chamber 2 in the expanded position has a rear panel 22 facing the steering wheel 1, the rear panel 22 is provided with a support chamber 3, the support chamber 3 has a first end 31 connected to the main chamber 2 and a second end 33 at the other end, the rear panel 22 is provided with a through hole 21 connected to the first end 31, after the support chamber 3 extends from the first end 31 to the steering wheel 1 side, the support chamber 3 is bent along the middle to form a bent portion 32, and then the second end 33 is closed and fixed to the rear panel 22, the bent portion 32 abuts against the upper edge of the wheel hub 11 and / or the steering column to provide reaction force support for the main chamber 2.

[0034] The present application forms a support chamber 3 with a small inflation volume and excellent support effect. The support chamber 3 is only supported on the upper edge of the wheel hub 11 and / or the steering column. The upper edge of the wheel hub 11 and / or the steering column provide support for the support chamber 3, so that the support chamber 3 can form support for the upper part of the main chamber 2 to prevent the main chamber 2 from tilting forward excessively to better restrain the occupants. Therefore, the airbag of the present application can be applied to steering wheels with an opening on the upper rim, yoke steering wheels, folded states of folding steering wheels, etc., which lack sufficient support for the upper part of the airbag. At the same time, the airbag of the present application realizes self-support on the steering wheel 1 without relying on the support of other components such as the dashboard and the upper rim. The present application improves the versatility of the design of the steering wheel 1 that lacks an upper rim while ensuring the protective effect of the steering wheel 1 on the occupants.

[0035] The airbag of the present application can also be applied to a steering wheel 1 with a rim on the upper part, that is, the airbag of the present application can ensure that the main chamber 2 is stably supported without relying on the support of the rim on the upper part of the steering wheel 1.

[0036] The second end 33 of the embodiment of the present application is fixed in a manner that the second end 33 is first closed, and then the closed second end 33 is flattened and fixed to the rear panel 22; the first end 31 is fixed in a manner that the edge of the first end 31 is sewn to the rear panel 22 around the through hole 21. In other embodiments, the second end 33 can also be fixed in a manner that the edges of the second end 33 are first brought close to each other to form a flat structure, and then sewn to the rear panel 22, and the second end 33 is closed while being fixed, or the second end 33 can be sewn and fixed to the rear panel 22 in other shapes, as long as the second end 33 is closed and fixed.

[0037] The fixing points of the first end 31 and the second end 33 of the support chamber 3 on the rear panel 22 are both located above the upper edge of the wheel hub 11. The fixing points of the first end 31 and the second end 33 of the support chamber 3 on the rear panel 22 are distributed along the contour of the upper edge of the wheel hub 11 and are relatively arranged with the center of the contour of the upper edge of the wheel hub 11, so that the support chamber 3 can provide a more uniform support effect for the main chamber 2 on both sides of the center of the wheel hub 11, so as to reduce the tilting of the main chamber 2 outside the design range and provide more effective protection for the occupants.

[0038] A more specific setting of the fixing points of the first end 31 and the second end 33 on the rear panel 22 may be: the centers of the fixing positions of the first end 31 and the second end 33 on the rear panel 22 are mirror-symmetrical with respect to the vertical center line passing through the center of the hub 11 .

[0039] The first end 31 is arranged on a side close to the vehicle body side relative to the second end 33. The first end 31 is closer to the outside of the vehicle, so that at the initial stage of inflation of the support chamber 3, the side of the support chamber 3 close to the first end 31 is inflated first, that is, the side of the support chamber 3 close to the outside of the vehicle is inflated first, so that the support chamber 3 can provide a support reaction force oblique to the inside of the vehicle at the initial stage of inflation, so as to provide stronger support for the side of the main chamber 2 close to the side of the vehicle body when the vehicle has an offset collision, thereby better protecting the occupants when the vehicle has an offset collision. Moreover, in the present application, the area of ​​the first end 31 is larger than the area of ​​the flat second end 33. After the support chamber 3 is inflated, the first end 31 is thicker and larger than the second end 33. The support chamber 3 of this structure is also conducive to enabling the support chamber 3 to provide a support reaction force oblique to the inside of the vehicle at the initial stage of inflation when the vehicle has an offset collision.

[0040] like Figure 3 As shown, the support chamber 3 of the present application is formed by bending and fixing the two ends of a cavity that is in a three-dimensional strip shape after being inflated in a natural state. Specifically, when the support chamber 3 is not constrained in a natural state, it is in a three-dimensional strip shape after being inflated. The three-dimensional strip shape can be various shapes such as a cylinder, a column or a cone. The cross-section of the three-dimensional strip shape can also be a rectangle, a triangle or an ellipse. The specific design is based on the upper edge contour of the wheel hub 11, and the surface curvature of the support chamber 3 in the use state is matched with the upper edge of the wheel hub 11 as much as possible, so that the wheel hub 11 can provide better support for the support chamber 3.

[0041] Starting from the end surface of the first end portion 31 , at least a portion of the support chamber 3 extends toward the steering wheel 1 in a direction perpendicular to the rear panel 22 . Specifically, in the present embodiment, when the first end portion 31 is sewn on the rear panel 22 and the second end portion 33 which is already closed is not fixed, the second end portion 33 is a free end, and the extension direction of the support chamber 3 in the inflated state is perpendicular to the rear panel 22. Before sewing the first end portion 31, the end face of the first end portion 31 is made perpendicular to the length direction of the three-dimensional strip, and then the end face of the first end portion 31 is facing the rear panel 22, and the edge of the first end portion 31 is sewn on the rear panel 22, so that the extension direction of the support chamber 3 in the inflated state when the second end portion 33 is not fixed is perpendicular to the rear panel 22; after the three-dimensional strip bag body is bent, when the second end portion 33 is normally fixed on the rear panel 22, after the support chamber 3 is inflated, the end of the support chamber 3 adjacent to the through hole 21 has a small section structure perpendicular to the rear panel 22, so as to make the supporting force provided by the support chamber 3 as much as possible toward the main chamber 2, thereby improving the supporting effect of the support chamber 3 on the main chamber 2.

[0042] The support chamber 3 contacts the upper edge of the hub 11 at the initial stage of inflation, and the support chamber 3 completes inflation in a state of abutting against the upper edge of the hub 11 .

[0043] like Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, during the initial inflation process (30ms), the position of the bubble in the support chamber 31 is aligned with the upper edge of the wheel hub 11. This position is critical for properly engaging the steering wheel 1 and providing effective restraint. When the inflation time is 40-50ms, the support chamber 3 begins to fully inflate against the upper edge of the wheel hub 11. When the inflation time is 60ms, the support chamber 3 completes inflation, supports the upper part of the main chamber 2, and prevents the main chamber 2 from tilting forward excessively to better restrain the occupant.

[0044] like Figure 6 As shown, a gas check structure is provided on the through hole 21, so that the gas in the main chamber 2 forms a one-way flow from the main chamber 2 to the support chamber 3. It is difficult for the gas entering the support chamber 3 to flow back to the main chamber 2. It is ensured that the support chamber 3 has sufficient pressure to provide support for the main chamber 2.

[0045] The gas check structure includes a conical fabric check valve 4 connected to the through hole 21, the large diameter end of the fabric check valve 4 is connected to the through hole 21, and the fabric check valve 4 extends from the through hole 21 into the support chamber 3. Specifically, the end of the fabric check valve 4 extends to before the bending point of the support chamber 3 to ensure normal gas outlet of the fabric check valve 4.

[0046] The above is only a specific implementation of the present application, but the protection scope of the present application is not limited thereto. Any changes or substitutions that can be easily thought of by a person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed in the present application should be included in the protection scope of the present application. Therefore, the protection scope of the present application shall be based on the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A steering wheel airbag, folded and stored in the hub of the steering wheel, the airbag can be inflated to an expanded position and has a main chamber supported by the hub, the main chamber in the expanded position has a rear panel facing the steering wheel, the rear panel is provided with a support chamber, characterized in that ； The support chamber has a first end portion connected to the main chamber, and after the support chamber extends from the first end portion toward the steering wheel side, the support chamber is bent along the middle portion to form a bent portion, and then the second end portion is closed and fixed to the rear panel, and the bent portion abuts against the upper edge of the wheel hub and / or the steering column to provide reaction force support for the main chamber; The supporting chamber is formed by bending a three-dimensional long strip of cavity after being inflated in a natural state and fixing both ends.

2. The steering wheel airbag according to claim 1, characterized in that: The fixing points of the first end and the second end of the support chamber on the rear panel are both located above the upper edge of the hub, and the fixing points of the first end and the second end of the support chamber on the rear panel are distributed along the contour of the upper edge of the hub and are relatively arranged with the center of the contour of the upper edge of the hub.

3. The steering wheel airbag according to claim 2, characterized in that: The first end portion is disposed on a side closer to a body side portion of the vehicle relative to the second end portion.

4. The steering wheel airbag according to claim 1, characterized in that: At least a portion of the support chamber extends from an end surface of the first end portion toward the steering wheel side in a direction perpendicular to the rear panel.

5. The steering wheel airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The rear panel is provided with a through hole connected to the first end, and the through hole is provided with a gas check structure, so that the gas in the main chamber forms a one-way flow from the main chamber to the support chamber.

6. The steering wheel airbag according to claim 5, characterized in that: The gas check structure comprises a tapered fabric check valve connected to the through hole, a large diameter end of the fabric check valve is connected to the through hole, and the fabric check valve extends from the through hole into the support chamber.

7. The steering wheel airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: A rim opening is provided on the steering wheel.

8. The steering wheel airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The support chamber contacts the upper edge of the hub at the initial stage of inflation, and the support chamber completes inflation in a state of abutting against the upper edge of the hub.

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