UPWARD INFLATABLE VEHICLE AIRBAG

Abstract

Vehicle interior (10) comprising: a base (12); a seat (28) supported by the floor (12); and an airbag (14) supported by the floor (12) and inflatable away from the floor (12) to an inflated position, the airbag (14) comprising an outer panel (16), an inner panel (18) and an inflation chamber (20) defined between the inner panel (18) and the outer panel (16); wherein the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) extend along a curved path about an axis (A) transverse to the floor (12) in the inflated position, the curved path extending at least partially around the seat (28), the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) each extending along the curved path from a first end (44) to a second end (46) spaced from the first end (44), the vehicle interior (10) comprising more than one airbag (14), characterized in that the airbags (14) are fixed to a floor plate (36) of the floor (12) and extend around the seats (28) in the inflated position and in the non-inflated position, respectively.

Description

BACKGROUNDA vehicle may include devices that allow occupants to face each other during operation of the vehicle. As an example, an autonomous vehicle may be autonomously operated, allowing occupants of the vehicle to travel in the vehicle without monitoring operation of the vehicle. In particular, the autonomous vehicle may include seats that rotate freely during operation of the vehicle. This may allow the occupants of the seats to face and interact with each other. This may also allow all occupants to relax, interact with each other, and focus on vehicle devices. There remains a possibility of designing vehicle devices for the occupants that take into account the reduced operational monitoring provided by the autonomous vehicle.The document DE 10 2015 109 210 A1 discloses an airbag system with an airbag comprising a main panel and two side panels, wherein the airbag is fixed to a rear side of the vehicle seat.The document DE 10 2017 105 168 A1 discloses a vehicle interior comprising a table having a surface with a periphery, wherein an airbag extends around the periphery of the surface of the table.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGSFIG. 1 is a perspective view of a vehicle including airbags in an uninflated position supported by a floor. FIG. 2 is the perspective view of FIG. 1 with the airbags in an inflated position. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vehicle. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a seat rotatably supported with respect to the floor and including the airbag in the uninflated position. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the seat with the airbag shown in hidden lines. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view of the seat and the airbag in the inflated position. FIG. 7 is a top view of the seat and with the airbag inflated and moved relative to the bottom and seat to an end position. FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view of the seat and another embodiment of the airbag in the inflated position. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the vehicle having an inflator supported by the floor and connected to each airbag. FIG. 10 is a flowchart including a processor, impact detection sensors, an inflator, and an actuator. FIG. 11 is a flowchart of a process that may be executed by the processor.DETAILED DESCRIPTIONReferring to the figures, wherein like reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views, an interior 10 of a vehicle 26 includes a floor 12 and an airbag 14 supported by the floor 12 and inflatable away from the floor 12 to an inflated position. The airbag 14 includes an outer panel 16, an inner panel 18, and an inflation chamber 20 (numbered in FIGS. 6 and 8 ) defined between the inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16. In the inflated position, the outer panel 16 and the inner panel 18 extend along a curved path about an axis A transverse to the floor 12.As will be further discussed below, the airbag 14 may inflate from an uninflated position, as shown in FIG. 1, to the inflated position, as shown in FIG. 2. This inflation may occur in response to a vehicle impact. The airbag 14 in the inflated position may receive energy from an occupant 24 during the vehicle impact, and thereby the airbag 14 in the inflated position may reduce a likelihood that the occupant 24 impacts other occupants 24 and / or components of the vehicle interior 10. More specifically, as will be set forth below, the vehicle 26 may include a plurality of airbags 14 and, in such a configuration, the airbags 14 may receive energy from the occupants 24 when the occupants impact the respective airbag 14, and the airbags may impact and maintain each other to restrict movement of the occupants.The vehicle 26 may be, for example, an autonomous vehicle. In other words, the vehicle 26 may be autonomously operated such that the vehicle 26 may be operated without constant attention from a driver (not shown), i.e., the vehicle 26 may be self-driving without human input. During operation of the autonomous vehicle, the occupants 24 may face each other. The airbag 14 in the inflated position may reduce the likelihood of the occupants 24 impacting each other. For example, the airbag 14 may restrict movement of the occupants 24 towards each other when the seats 28 are rotated towards each other in any position.As shown in FIG. 1, the vehicle 26 includes a vehicle body 30 defining the vehicle interior 10. The vehicle body 30 may include a roof 32, the floor 12, and a plurality of pillars (not numbered). The vehicle body 30 may be of a self-supporting construction, a non-self-supporting construction, or any other suitable construction.The floor 12 may include a plurality of cross-members 34 and a floor panel 36 supported on the cross-members 34. The floor 12 may include a padding 74, e.g., a carpet, a trim, etc., supported on the floor panel 36.The vehicle interior 10 may include one or more seats 28. For example, as shown in the figures, the vehicle interior 10 may include a plurality of seats 28 supported by the floor 12. The vehicle 26 may include any suitable number of seats 28, and the seats 28 may be arranged in any suitable arrangement. For example, as shown in the figures, the seats 28 may be arranged in an annular pattern. As another example, the seats 28 may be arranged in any number of rows. The seat 28 may be, for example, a bucket seat, a bench seat, a child seat, a booster seat, or any other suitable type of seat. The seats 28 may be mounted in a fixed position relative to the floor 12, as shown in FIG. 1, e.g., fixed to the cross-members 34. Alternatively, the seats 28 may be movable relative to the floor 12 of the vehicle 26, e.g., in a fore and aft direction of the vehicle 26 and / or a cross direction of the vehicle. The seats 28 may be rotatable about an axis transverse to the floor 12, e.g., axis A.The vehicle interior 10 may include a base 38 that supports the seat 28 on the floor 12. The base 38 may support the airbag 14 and / or an inflator 40. The base 38 may rotate relative to the floor 12, e.g., may be rotatably engaged with the cross-member 34 and / or the floor panel 36. Alternatively, the base 38 may be fixed relative to the floor 12, and the seat 28 may be rotated relative to the base 38. The base 38 may have a round shape, for example.As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the base 38 may be rotatable relative to the floor 12. This may be constructed by connecting the base 38 to the cross member 34 using a bearing 42 or any other suitable rotational connection. The rotation of the seat 28 relative to the floor 12 may be driven by the occupant 24 or an electric motor (not shown), or in any other suitable manner.As previously noted, the vehicle interior 10 includes the airbag 14. The airbags 14 may be fixed to the bases 38, respectively. Alternatively, the airbags 14 may be fixed to the floor panel 36 and / or to the cross-members 34 of the floor 12. The airbags 14 may be disposed below the cushion 74, e.g., between the base 38 and the cushion 74.The airbags 14 may be formed of any suitable type of material, e.g., a woven polymer. For example, the airbag 14 may be formed from a woven nylon yarn, e.g., nylon 6. Other suitable examples include polyetheretherketone (PEEK), polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polyester, or any suitable polymer. The woven polymer may comprise a coating such as silicone, neoprene, urethane, polyorganosiloxane, etc.As shown in the figures, the airbag 14 may be inflatable away from the floor 38 to the inflated position. More specifically, in the inflated position, the outer panel 16, the inner panel 18, and the inflation chamber 20 extend along the curved path about the axis A, e.g., a vertical axis.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 6, the outer panel 16 and the inner panel 18 may each extend along the curved path from a first end 44 to a second end 46 spaced from the first end 44. The inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16 may be spaced apart from each other in the inflated position and define the inflation chamber 20 therebetween. The inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16 may be concentric about the axis A. The inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16 may be connected by tethers 48 as shown in FIG. 6, or by inner panels, etc.With continued reference to FIGS. 2 and 6, in the inflated position, the airbag 14 may include a bottom 50 supported by the floor 12 and a top 52 adjacent the roof 32. The top 52 may contact the roof 32 in the inflated position or may be spaced apart from the roof 32 in the inflated position. The first end 44 and the second end 46 of the outer panel 16 and the inner panel 18 may extend from the bottom 50 to the top 52. In other words, the airbag 14 may include an opening 54 from the first end 44 to the second end 46 and from the bottom 50 to the top 52.In one embodiment of the airbag 14, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5-7, the opening 54 may be rectangular. Alternatively, in another embodiment of the airbag 14 shown in FIG. 8, the airbag 14, i.e., the outer panel 16 and the inner panel 18, may define a recess 56 extending from the first end 44 along the curved path on the bottom 50. In other words, the airbag 14, i.e., the outer panel 16 and the inner panel 18, may include a flap 58 spaced from the bottom 50 of the airbag 14 and extending to the top 52 of the airbag 14. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 8, the flap 58 may extend to the top 52 of the airbag 14.In the embodiment of the airbag 14 shown in FIG. 8, the recess 56 may receive the legs 60 of the occupant 24 during inflation of the airbag 14, as shown in FIG. 8 and described below. The flap 58 of the airbag 14 may inflate in front of the head 62 and upper torso 64 of the occupant 24 to receive energy from the head 62 and upper torso 64 of the occupant 24 during the vehicle impact.The recess 56 may be rectangular in shape or any other suitable shape. The flap 58 may be rectangular in shape or any other suitable shape. The airbag 14 may include dedicated tethers (not shown) in the recess 56, in the flap 58, connected to boundaries 66 of the recess 56, and / or connected to the flap 58 to support and position the flap 58 during inflation. Alternatively or additionally, the flap 58 and the recess 56 may be supported during inflation in any suitable manner, e.g., sewing a material within the airbag 14.The vehicle interior 10 may include one or more inflator 40 that inflates the airbags 14 from the uninflated position to the inflated position. As an example, the vehicle interior 10 may include a plurality of inflator 40 in fluid communication with the airbags 14, respectively, as shown in FIG. 1. In this case, fill tubes 68 may connect the inflator 40 to the airbags 14, respectively. As another example, a single inflator 70 is connected to the airbags 14, as shown in FIG. 9. In this case, the fill tubes 68 may connect the single inflator 70 to the airbags 14. In this example, the fill tube 68 may be configured to allow rotation of the seat 28, i.e., a rotational fit (not numbered) may be used for fluid communication. The vehicle 26 may include any suitable number of inflator associated with any number of airbags 14.As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the inflator 40 may be supported by the base 38 and the base 38 may rotate relative to the bottom 12. When supported by the base 38, the inflator 40 moves with the base 38 and the seat 28 as the base 38 and the seat 28 rotate relative to the floor 12. In other words, the inflator 40 is fixed with respect to the seat 28 when the seat 28 rotates. Alternatively, the single inflator 70 may be fixed to the floor 12 in fluid communication with all of the airbags 14, i.e., fixed to the cross members 34, as shown in FIG. 9. Alternatively, the single inflator 70 may be disposed in any other suitable portion of the vehicle body 30, e.g., at the pillars.The inflator 40, 70 expand the airbag 14 with an inflation medium, such as a gas, to move the airbag 14 from an uninflated position to the inflated position. In particular, the inflator 40, 70 may be in communication with the inflation chamber 20 to supply the inflation medium to the inflation chamber 20. The inflator 40, 70 may be, for example, a pyrotechnic inflator that uses a chemical reaction to drive the inflation medium into the airbag 14. Alternatively, the inflator 40, 70 may be, for example, a cold inflator that, when activated, ignites a pyrotechnic charge that creates an opening 54 for releasing the pressurized inflation medium into the airbags 14 via the fill tubes 68. Alternatively, the inflator 40, 70 may be of any suitable type, for example, a hybrid inflator.The cushion 74 may define a tear seam 72 that is aligned with the airbag 14. Upon inflation of the airbag 14, the airbag 14 may tear the cushion 74 at the tear seam 72 and protrude outward from the cushion 74 to the inflated position. Additionally, the airbag 14 may be covered by a cover 76 disposed between the airbag 14 and the cushion 74. The cover 76 may protect the airbag 14 from wear and tear in the uninflated position.As shown in the figures, the curved path of the airbag 14 may extend at least partially around the respective seat 28, i.e., along one or more portions of a perimeter of the seat 28. Alternatively, the airbag 14 may surround the seat 28, i.e., around the entire periphery of the seat 28. As shown in the figures, the airbags 14 may each extend around the seats 28 in the inflated position and the uninflated position. In the inflated position, the airbags 14 may each define an occupant chamber 78 and may extend the curved path around the occupant chamber 78. In other words, the inner panel 18 and the outer panel 16 may expand the occupant compartment 78. The seat 28 may be disposed in the occupant chamber 78.The curved path of the airbag 14 may have various shapes, and as shown in the figures, for example, the curved path may be an arc. Here, the arc refers to a two-dimensional view of the airbag 14 crossed by a plane parallel to the floor 12. For example, the arc may be a segment of a circle, i.e., a circular arc.The vehicle interior 10 may include an actuator 82 supported by the base 38 and connected to the airbag 14. The actuator 82 may be actuated to move the airbag 14 relative to the seat 28 along the arc from an initial position (shown in FIGS. 1, 3, and 5 ) to an end position (shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 ). The actuator 82 may move the airbag 14 from the initial position to the final position during inflation of the airbag 14. In the final position, the airbag 14 may be positioned forward of the head 62 and the upper body 64 of the occupant 24, as shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. This may reduce the likelihood that the occupants 24 will impact each other or that the occupant 24 will impact other components of the vehicle interior 10. The actuator 82 may be constructed in various ways, e.g., as a gas-powered tensioner or an electromagnetic actuator, or in any other suitable manner.In the embodiment of the airbag 14 shown in FIG. 7, the airbag 14 may contact the legs 60 of the occupant 24 as the actuator 82 moves the airbag 14 from the initial position to the final position. In this configuration, the airbag 14 may deform about the legs 60 and / or the airbag may move the legs 60 from the initial position to the final position during inflation and movement. In the embodiment of the airbag 14 shown in FIG. 8, the recess 56 may receive the legs 60 of the occupant 24 during inflation and movement from the initial position to the final position.When the airbag 14 is moved to the final position, the fill tube 68 maintains fluid communication, e.g., the fill tube 68 may be configured to allow the airbag 14 to move, e.g., be kinked or rolled when the airbag 14 is in the uninflated position and be long enough to reach the airbag 14 in the final position. The fill tube 68 may be formed from any suitable material, e.g., a flexible material and / or a shape memory material.The vehicle interior 10 may further include a guide 84 supported by the base 38 fixed relative to the seat 28 and extending at least partially around the seat 28, e.g., along one or more portions of a perimeter of the seat 28, and the airbag 14 engages the guide 84. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the guide 84 may allow movement of the airbag 14 to the final position.As shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the vehicle interior 10 may further include a slide member 86 connected to the actuator 82 and engaged with the guide 84, and the airbag 14 may be fixed to the slide member 86. As an example, the slider 86 may frictionally engage the guide 84. A frictional force of the guide 84 may initially restrain the movement of the slide member 86. The actuator 82 is configured to apply an actuator force that is greater than the frictional force. The actuator force may exceed the frictional force in a direction opposite to the actuator force and move the airbag 14 to the final position.The vehicle interior 10 may further include a cord 88 extending from the actuator 82 to the airbag 14. The actuator 82 may release a pulling force. The pulling force is applied to the airbag 14 through the cord 88 and can move the airbag 14 to the end position.As an example, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 6, the base 38 may rotate relative to the floor 12 and the guide 84 may be fixed to the base 38. The airbag 14 engages the guide 84. Prior to actuation of the actuator 82, the airbag 14 may be engaged with the guide 84 fixed relative to the seat 28 in the uninflated position. Upon actuation of the actuator 82, the airbag 14 may move to the final position relative to the seat 28 and the guide 84.For example, as shown in FIG. 6, the opening 54 is configured to receive the legs 60 of the occupant 24 during inflation. During initial inflation of the airbag 14 from the uninflated position to the inflated position, the opening 54 receives the occupant's legs 60. The actuator 82 may be actuated before, during, or after inflation of the airbag 14 is started. The movement of the airbag 14 to the final position may be delayed to ensure that the legs 60 of the occupant 24 are received in the opening 54, wherein the airbag 14 may move the legs 60 of the occupant 24 to one side as shown in FIG. 7. The delay between the start of the inflation of the airbag 14 and the start of the actuation of the actuator 82 may be very short, e.g. shorter than 10 ms. The presence of a very short time delay may help quickly place the airbag 14 in the final position to absorb energy from the occupant 24 during the vehicle impact. The airbags 14 in the final position may further reduce the likelihood of occupants 24 impacting each other or other components of the vehicle interior 10.Referring to FIG. 10, the vehicle 26 may include a processor 90 programmed to start inflation of the airbag 14 in response to sensing the vehicle impact by impact detection sensors 92. The processor 90 may be embedded in a microcontroller. The microcontroller may include a memory, etc. The memory of the microcontroller may store instructions executable by the processor 90, and the processor 90 may read the instructions from the memory and execute the instructions.The impact detection sensors 92 are configured to detect the vehicle impact on the vehicle body 30. One or more impact detection sensors 92 may be disposed in the vehicle body or elsewhere in the vehicle 24. The impact detection sensors 92 may be of various types, e.g., a pressure sensor, an accelerometer, a vision sensor, etc.As shown in FIG. 10, the processor 90 may receive one or more signals from the impact detection sensors 92 indicative of the vehicle impact when the vehicle impact occurs. In response to receiving the signals from the impact detection sensors 92, the processor 90 may start inflating the airbag 20 by sending a signal to the inflator 40, 70. Further, the processor 90 may send a signal to the actuator 82 to start moving the airbag 14 to the final position.Communication between the processor 90, inflator 40, 70, actuator 82, and impact detection sensors 92 may be through direct wiring, where the signals are sent as analog or digital signals, or through a communication network such as CAN (Control Area Network), Ethernet, LIN (Local Interconnect Network), or in any other manner.FIG. 11 illustrates a flowchart of an example process 200 that may be executed by the processor 90. The processor 90 may be programmed to execute the process 200. The process 200 may receive impact information from the impact detection sensors 92 and may start the first operation, i.e., inflation of the airbag 14, and start the second operation, i.e., actuation of the actuator 82 to move the airbag 14 to the final position.Still referring to FIG. 11, at block 210, the processor 90 may obtain the impact information from the impact detection sensors 92. At block 220, the processor 90 may determine whether deployment of the airbag 14 is necessary. An evaluation may be based on physical characteristics of the vehicle impact or on any other information from other vehicle controllers. In the event deployment is deemed necessary, at block 230, the processor 90 may start the first operation by sending a signal to the inflator 40, 70 to inflate all the airbags 14. Alternatively, the processor 90 may initiate selective inflation of the airbags 14, i.e., deployment of a particular subset of the airbags may be selected. This may be determined based on which side of the vehicle 26 an impact occurs, based on an amount and direction of pressure applied to the vehicle body 30, based on whether the seat is occupied, etc. At block 240, the processor 90 may start a timer with a predetermined time period, e.g., 8 ms, to measure the time delay prior to actuating the actuator 82 to move the airbag 14 to the final position. At block 250, the processor 90 may determine whether the timer has expired, i.e., whether the predetermined time period has elapsed since the start of the timer. In the event that the timer is deemed expired, at block 260, the processor 90 may start the second operation by sending a signal to the actuator 82 to move all the airbags 14 to the final position. In the event that the processor 90 has started selectively inflating a particular subset of airbags in the first operation, the processor 90 may actuate the actuators 82 corresponding to the particular subset of airbags 14 to move the particular subset of airbags 14 to the final position.

Claims

A vehicle interior (10) comprising: a floor (12); a seat (28) supported by the floor (12); and an airbag (14) supported by the floor (12) and inflatable away from the floor (12) to an inflated position, the airbag (14) comprising an outer panel (16), an inner panel (18), and an inflation chamber (20) defined between the inner panel (18) and the outer panel (16); wherein the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) extend along a curved path about an axis (A) transverse to the floor (12) in the inflated position, the curved path extending at least partially around the seat (28), the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) each extend along the curved path from a first end (44) to a second end (46) spaced from the first end (44), the vehicle interior (10) comprising more than one airbag (14), characterized in that the airbags (14) are fixed to a floor panel (36) of the floor (12) and each extend around the seats (28) in the inflated position and in the uninflated position.The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, wherein the seat (28) is rotatable relative to the floor (12).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, further comprising a roof, wherein the airbag (14), in the inflated position, has a bottom (50) supported by the floor (12) and a top (52) adjacent the roof, wherein the first end (44) and the second end (46) of the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) extend from the bottom (50) to the top (52).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 3, wherein the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) define a recess (56) extending from the first end (44) along the curved path on the bottom side (50).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, wherein the curved path is an arc.The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, further comprising a roof, wherein the airbag (14), in the inflated position, has a bottom (50) supported by the floor (12) and a top (52) adjacent the roof.The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, wherein the inner panel (18) and the outer panel (16) are concentric about the axis (A).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 1, further comprising a cushion (74) supported by the floor (12) and defining a tear seam (72) aligned with the airbag (14).A vehicle interior (10) comprising: a base (38); a seat (28) supported by the base (38); an airbag (14) supported by the base (38), the airbag (14) inflatable away from the base (38) to an inflated position, the airbag (14) comprising an outer panel (16), an inner panel (18), and an inflation chamber (20) defined between the inner panel (18) and the outer panel (16), the outer panel (16) and the inner panel (18) extending along a curved path about an axis (A) transverse to the base (38) in the inflated position; a inflator (40) in fluid communication with the airbag (14); and an actuator (82) supported by the base (38), the actuator (82) being connected to the airbag (14), characterized in that the vehicle interior (10) further comprises a guide (84) supported by the base (38) and extending at least partially around the seat (28), the airbag (14) engaging the guide (84).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 9, further comprising a slider (86) connected to the actuator (82) and engaged with the guide (84), wherein the airbag (14) is fixed to the slider (86).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 9, further comprising a floor (12), wherein the base (38) is fixed relative to the floor (12).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 9, further comprising a cord (88) extending from the actuator (82) to the airbag (14).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 9, further comprising a floor (12), wherein the base (38) is rotatable relative to the floor (12).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 13, wherein the inflator (40) is supported by the base (38).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 13, wherein the inflator (40) is supported by the floor (12).The vehicle interior (10) of claim 13, wherein the guide (84) is fixed to the base (38) and extends at least partially around the seat (28), the airbag (14) engaging the guide (84).

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