Load net support incorporating a protective element for a safety airbag

Abstract

The invention relates to an anchoring support (200) for a load net of a motor vehicle, comprising a hollow body including an external side attachment wall (211) provided to be fixedly attached against a side stretcher of the roof (10), above the bag in the folded or rolled state (110) of a curtain-type airbag, said body also comprising an internal side anchoring wall (212) separated transversely from said external side attachment wall and having an anchoring hole (217) for one end of a load net rod; characterized in that said support includes a protective element (230) fixedly attached to said body and having an interposition wall (232) projecting transversely from the internal side of said body below said anchoring hole so as to interpose, when the end of said rod of said net is anchored to said support, between the latter and said bag.Figure to be published with the abbreviation: Fig. 3.

Description

Title of the invention: Load net support incorporating a protective element for a safety airbag technical field

[0001] The present invention relates generally to the automotive field.

[0002] It relates more particularly to an anchoring support for a load net intended to be deployed in the passenger compartment of the vehicle behind the front seats. Previous technique

[0003] In station wagon or minivan type motor vehicles, it is common for the rear seats to be able to be folded flat or removed to increase the usable loading volume.

[0004] In such a configuration, it is known to provide, as an option, the possibility for the user to install a cargo net extending transversely behind the front seats so as to separate the volume reserved for the front passengers and that reserved for loading luggage and / or various goods.

[0005] These nets allow, in the event of a strong deceleration of the vehicle caused by a shock or sudden braking, to retain the loads projected forward and prevent them from hitting the passengers.

[0006] Such a protective net classically comprises a quadrilateral-shaped sheet made up of a plurality of interlaced strands and which is carried at its top by a transverse rod, each end of which is anchored on a respective anchoring support classically fixed on a corresponding lateral roof beam of the vehicle body structure.

[0007] Document FR 3 076 512 Al describes such an anchorage support for a load net of a motor vehicle comprising a hollow metal body including an external side wall for attachment intended to be fixedly attached against a side stretcher of the roof, and an internal side wall for anchorage separated transversely from said external side wall for attachment and having an anchorage hole for one end of a load net rod.

[0008] Such an anchor hole classically has a circular insertion portion dimensioned to allow the enlarged end of the shank of the load thread to be inserted into it, as well as a retaining groove extending contiguous to this circular portion and having a width less than the diameter of the latter so as to prevent the enlarged end of the shank of the load thread from coming out through this groove.

[0009] Motor vehicles are generally also equipped with curtain-type safety airbags mounted on the side roof rails of the vehicle's body structure, above the front and rear side windows on each side of this vehicle.

[0010] Such a curtain-type airbag conventionally comprises an inflatable bag folded or rolled into a rod shape, as well as a gas generator to ensure the inflation of said bag.

[0011] When the bag of such a folded or rolled-up cushion is suddenly pressurized by the gas generator activated during the occurrence of a shock, it deploys from top to bottom, covering virtually all the windows of the front and rear doors as well as the central pillar of the vehicle, so as to protect the head of the occupants of the front and rear side seats located on the side of this cushion.

[0012] In this context, the anchor supports for the load net are likely to be installed above the bags of the curtain-type airbags.

[0013] These bags, which in their folded or rolled state never have a perfect cylindrical shape, can thus protrude in front of the internal side walls of the anchoring supports for load nets, so that there is a risk of pinching and damage to these bags by the ends of the load net rod during its installation. Description of the invention

[0014] The present invention therefore aims to improve the situation.

[0015] For this purpose, it proposes an anchoring support for a load net of a motor vehicle, comprising a hollow body including an external side wall for attachment intended to be fixedly attached against a side stretcher of the roof of said vehicle, above the bag in the folded or rolled-up state of a curtain-type airbag, said body also comprising an internal side wall for anchoring separated transversely from said external side wall for attachment and having an anchoring hole for one end of a load net rod; characterized in that said support comprises a protective element attached fixedly to said body and having an interposition wall projecting transversely from the inner side of said body below said anchorage hole so as to interpose, when the end of said rod of said load net is anchored to said support, between the latter and said airbag of the safety cushion.

[0016] The addition of such a protective device thus makes it possible to avoid any risk of pinching and damage to the airbag by an end of the cargo net rod when installing this cargo net in the vehicle.

[0017] Furthermore, the fact that this protective device is mounted on the load net support rather than on the side stretcher of the roof avoids impacting the cost vehicle cost for the majority of models without the cargo net option.

[0018] According to preferred characteristics of said anchoring support according to the invention: - said protective device also includes a sole equipped with fastening means capable of cooperating with complementary means provided on said body to ensure the fixing of this sole against a lower wall of said body connecting said internal anchoring and external fastening lateral walls; - said attachment means comprise two openings intended to be traversed by tabs projecting respectively at the front and rear of said lower body wall and curving upwards; - said protective device is made of an elastically deformable material; - the longitudinal distance between said lights is less than that between the two free ends of said legs, so that it is necessary to stretch said sole elastically after the insertion of a first leg into the corresponding light in order to be able to make the insertion of the second leg into the other light; - said protective device includes a gripping tab extending in line with one of the longitudinal ends of said sole; - said gripping tab has an opening sized for the passage of an operator's finger; - said interposing wall extends diagonally downwards so as to also constitute a guide ramp facilitating the passage of the end of said rod of said load net to said anchor hole; and / or - said external side wall of attachment has a hole allowing the said support to be fixed by screwing it onto said side stretcher of pavilion.

[0019] The invention also relates in a second aspect to a motor vehicle comprising at least one such anchoring support fixed against a side stretcher of the roof of said vehicle, above the bag in the folded or rolled-up state of a curtain-type safety airbag. Brief description of the drawings

[0020] The description of the invention will now be continued by a detailed description of several embodiments, given below by way of illustration but not limitation, with reference to the accompanying drawings, on which:

[0021] [Fig-1] represents a partial elevation view of a side stretcher of the roof of the body structure of a motor vehicle on which are mounted a curtain-type airbag and an anchorage support for a load net according to the invention;

[0022] [Fig.2] is an enlargement of detail II of [Fig.1];

[0023] [Fig.3] represents a cross-sectional view of the subset of [Fig.1], taken at the level of the anchoring support for the load net according to the invention;

[0024] [Fig.4] is a perspective view of the anchoring support for load net according the invention; and

[0025] [Fig. 5] represents a perspective view of the support protection element anchoring of the [Fig.4]. Description of the implementation methods

[0026] Fig. 1 represents a partial view of a side stretcher of the roof 10 of the body structure of a motor vehicle on which are mounted a curtain-type airbag 100, as well as an anchor support for a load net 200 according to the invention.

[0027] In the following description, and by convention, an orthogonal XYZ frame of reference is defined with respect to the vehicle, comprising three axes perpendicular in pairs, namely: - an X-axis, defining a longitudinal, horizontal direction, coinciding with the general direction of movement of the vehicle, - a Y-axis, defining a horizontal, transverse direction, which, together with the X-axis, defines a horizontal XY plane, and - a Z-axis, defining a vertical direction, perpendicular to the horizontal XY plane.

[0028] In the remainder of the description and with reference to the frame of reference defined above, the terms "Longitudinal" or "longitudinally" will refer to a direction parallel to the X axis, the terms "transverse" or "transversely" will refer to a direction parallel to the Y axis, and the terms "vertical" or "vertically" will refer to a direction parallel to the Z axis.

[0029] The terms "external" and "internal" will be used to define the relative position of an element with reference to the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. The element closest to this axis will thus be described as internal, as opposed to the other element further from this same axis, which will be described as external.

[0030] The side roof rail 10 which extends longitudinally between the front and rear cross members not shown of the body structure, is intended to be hidden from inside the vehicle by an interior roof trim 20 (shown in [Fig.3]) which covers it and to which it is attached by clips.

[0031] The safety airbag 100 classically comprises a folded or rolled airbag 110 in the form of a substantially tubular rod, and a gas generator 120 comprising a rigid metallic container of generally cylindrical shape in which are found reagents enabling the generation of gas and an electrically controlled trigger.

[0032] The bag 110 extends along the lower part of this lateral stretcher of pavilion 10 below two articulated gripping handles 30 also implanted on this stretcher 10.

[0033] This bag 110 is designed to deploy from top to bottom at the level of the middle pillar and the windows of the two side doors located on either side of this middle pillar (these elements not being shown in the figures), so as to protect the head of the occupants of the front and rear side seats of the vehicle located on the side of the airbag 100 in the event of a side impact.

[0034] The anchor support for load net 200 is also fixed on the side stretcher 10, above the bag 110 in the folded or rolled-up state of the safety airbag 100.

[0035] We will now describe in more detail this anchoring support 200 with reference to figures 2 to 4.

[0036] This comprises a main hollow body of substantially parallelepiped shape 210, open at the front and rear, and extending along a longitudinal axis.

[0037] Preferably made from a sheet of stamped and bent metal sheet (typically steel), the body 210 comprises: - an external side wall attachment 211, - an internal anchoring side wall 212 separated transversely from the external attachment side wall 211, - a lower wall 213 connecting the lower edges of the internal anchoring side walls 212 and external attachment side walls 211, and - two upper walls 214, 215 partially overlapping and being connected respectively to the upper edge of the external side wall of attachment 211 and to that of the internal side wall of anchorage 212, these two upper walls 214, 215 being advantageously welded to each other in order to increase the rigidity of the body 210.

[0038] The external side wall of attachment 211 has a circular hole 216 (visible on the [Fig.4]) allowing the anchorage support 200 to be screwed onto the side stretcher of the pavilion 10 by means of a screw V, as illustrated by figures 2 and 3.

[0039] Alternatively, this external side wall attachment 211 can be welded directly onto the side stretcher 3.

[0040] Extending substantially parallel to this external attachment side wall 211, the internal anchoring side wall 212 has an anchoring hole 217 for one end of the shank of a load thread not shown.

[0041] This anchor hole 217 has a circular insertion portion 217A dimensioned to allow the enlarged end of the load thread shank to be inserted into it, as well as a retaining groove 217B extending contiguously to this portion circular 217A along a substantially longitudinal axis and having a width less than the diameter of the latter so as to prevent the enlarged end of the shank of the load thread from coming out through this groove 217B.

[0042] The free end of this groove 217B, opposite the circular portion 217A, is bent downwards to ensure longitudinal locking of the load thread stem after its placement.

[0043] The body 210 further advantageously comprises pre-holding and anti-rotation indexing means consisting in this case of an extension 218 extending forward the external side wall of attachment 211 and made by cutting and folding in the portion of sheet metal constituting this wall 211.

[0044] This extension 218 includes a first tab 219 extending coplanarly to the external lateral attachment wall 211, as well as two other tabs 220 folded in an S shape and projecting from the external face of this same wall 211.

[0045] As illustrated by [Fig.3], the tongue 219 and the two tongues 220 are provided to cooperate in support respectively with the inner face of the lateral stretcher of the pavilion 10 and with the outer perimeter of a window provided in this stretcher 10, so as to ensure effective pre-holding of the anchoring support 200 before its final fixing by screwing.

[0046] According to the invention, the anchoring support 200 also includes a protective element 230 intended to interpose itself, when the end of the load net rod is anchored to this support 200, between the latter and the inflatable bag 110 in the folded or rolled state of the safety airbag 100, so as to avoid any risk of damage to this bag 110 by this end of the load net rod.

[0047] In order to avoid the appearance of parasitic noises in case of contact with the interior headliner 20 which tends to deform slightly when the vehicle undergoes significant shocks (in particular when passing over a pothole or a speed bump), this protective element 230 is advantageously made of an elastically deformable material such as for example an EPDM (ethylene-propylene-diene monomer), a silicone elastomer, an SBR (styrene-butadiene), an FKM (fluoroelastomer), an HNBR (hydrogenated butadiene-acrylonitrile copolymer) or even natural rubber.

[0048] The use of such an elastically deformable material also prevents the protective element 230 from damaging the bag 110 itself when the anchoring support 200 is being placed on the side stretcher of the pavilion 10.

[0049] Represented alone on [Fig.5], the protective element 230 comprises a base 231 intended to be fixedly attached against the lower wall 213 of the body 210.

[0050] This protective element 230 also includes an interposition wall 232 rooted along a central portion of the inner lateral edge of this sole 231 and projecting transversely from the inner side of the body 210 below the anchor hole 217 so as to interpose, when the end of said rod of said load net is anchored to the support 200, between the latter and said bag 110 of the safety airbag 100.

[0051] As illustrated in [Fig.5] and in order to ensure its attachment to the body 210, the sole 231 has near its longitudinal ends two transversely oriented openings 233 provided to be crossed by two tabs 221 extending in the continuation of the two longitudinal ends of the lower wall 213 of the body 210 and curving upwards.

[0052] It will be noted that in views 1 to 4, the sole 231 is not yet fixed on the body 210.

[0053] In order to ensure that the sole 231 is held securely after being put in place and to avoid any relative movement with the body 210, the longitudinal distance between the two slots 233 is less than that between the two free ends of the tabs 221 so that it is necessary to stretch the sole 231 elastically after the insertion of a first tab 221 into the corresponding slot 233 in order to be able to insert the second tab 221 into the other slot 233.

[0054] In order to facilitate the elastic stretching of the sole 231 during its installation, the protective element 230 includes a gripping tab 234 extending in line with one of the longitudinal ends of the sole 231.

[0055] In order to further facilitate this elastic stretching of the sole 231, this gripping tongue 234 may advantageously include a circular opening 235 sized for the passage of a finger of the operator in charge of the assembly.

[0056] As illustrated by [Fig.3], the interposition wall 232 extends preferentially at an angle downwards along a slope forming an angle of inclination 0 (advantageously between 10 and 30°) with the base 231 so as to also constitute a guide ramp facilitating the path of the end of the shank of the load thread to the circular insertion portion 217A of the anchor hole 217.

Claims

Demands

1. Anchoring support (200) for a load net of a motor vehicle, comprising a hollow body (210) including an external attachment side wall (211) intended to be fixedly attached against a roof side strut (10) of said vehicle, above the bag in the folded or rolled state (110) of a curtain-type safety airbag (100), said body (210) also including an internal anchoring side wall (212) offset transversely from said external attachment side wall (211) and having an anchor hole (217) for one end of a load net rod;characterized in that said support (200) comprises a protective element (230) fixedly attached to said body (210) and having an interposition wall (232) projecting transversely from the inner side of said body (210) below said anchoring hole (217) so as to interpose, when the end of said shank of said load net is anchored to said support (200), between the latter and said bag (110) of the airbag (100) and in that said protective element (230) also comprises a base (231) having fastening means capable of cooperating with complementary means provided on said body (210) to ensure the fastening of this base (231) against a lower wall (213) of said body (210) connecting said inner anchoring side walls (212) and outer attachment side walls (211).;

2. Anchoring support (200) according to claim 1, characterized in that said fastening means comprise two slots (233) provided to be passed through by tabs (221) extending in the continuation of the two longitudinal ends of said lower wall (213) of the body (210) and curving upwards.

3. Anchoring support (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said protective member (230) is made of an elastically deformable material.

4. Anchoring support (200) according to claims 2 and 3, characterized in that the longitudinal spacing between said slots (233) is less than that between the two free ends of said tabs (221), such that it is necessary to elastically stretch said base (231) after the insertion of a first tab into the slot corresponding to be able to insert the second leg into the other opening.

5. Anchoring support (200) according to claim 4, characterized in that said protective member (230) comprises a gripping tongue (234) extending in the continuation of one of the longitudinal ends of said sole (231).

6. Anchoring support (200) according to claim 5, characterized in that said gripping tongue (234) has an opening (235) sized for the passage of an operator's finger.

7. Anchor support (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said interposition wall (232) extends diagonally downwards so as to also constitute a guide ramp facilitating the path of the end of said rod of said load net to said anchor hole (217).

8. Anchoring support (200) according to any one of the preceding claims, characterized in that said external side wall of attachment (211) has a hole (216) allowing the fixing by screwing said support (200) onto said side stretcher of pavilion (10).

9. Motor vehicle characterized in that it comprises at least one anchorage support (200) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, fixed against a side stretcher of the roof (10) of said vehicle, above the bag in the folded or rolled state (110) of a curtain-type safety airbag (100).

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