Occupant protection device

Abstract

To provide an occupant crash protection device capable of restraining movement in the lateral direction of a pair of airbags respectively deployed and inflated in front of an occupant from both right and left sides of a seat.SOLUTION: This occupant crash protection device M is provided with a pair of right and left air bag devices AB1 and AB2 for deploying and inflating air bags 21 stored on the right and left sides of a seat 1 in front of an occupant. The airbag device AB1, AB2 includes a tether 31, a rigid member 40, and a lock mechanism 52. The tether 31 is connected to the airbag 21 so as to be in contact with the 22b of the front sidewall of the airbag 21 when the airbag 21 is deployed and inflated. The rigid member 40 is rotatably supported at the upper portion of the backrest 3, holds a part of the tether 31 extending from the upper portion of the backrest 3 toward the shoulder of the occupant MP, and moves integrally with the tether 31. The lock mechanism 52 engages with the rigid member 40 that has moved to a predetermined position to restrict the rotational movement of the rigid member 40.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 7

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat. [Background technology]

[0002] Passenger protection devices that use airbags are known as devices for protecting occupants from impact when an impact is applied to a vehicle due to a collision, etc. One form of such passenger protection device is disclosed in the passenger protection device described in Patent Document 1 below, for example. A pair of airbags are deployed and inflated in front of the occupant from both the left and right sides of the seat, and are biased toward the occupant by the tension of tethers that are stretched from the top of the seat back to the seat bottom, thereby improving passenger restraint performance.

[0003] However, in the occupant protection device of Patent Document 1, if the occupant moves forward due to the inertial force generated during a collision, there is a risk that the pair of airbags located in front of the occupant will open to the left and right, and the forward movement of the occupant will not be sufficiently suppressed. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] International Publication No. 2020 / 017281 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] The present invention solves such problems and aims to provide an occupant protection device that can suppress the left-right movement of a pair of airbags that are deployed and inflated in front of the occupant from both the left and right sides of the seat. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The occupant protection device according to the present invention is an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, a pair of left and right airbag devices configured to deploy and inflate airbags housed on the left and right sides of the seat in front of the occupant, The airbag device includes: a tether having one end fixed to an upper portion of a backrest portion of the seat and the other end fixed to a seat bottom portion of the seat, and connected to the airbag so as to contact a front wall portion of the airbag opposite to an occupant-side wall portion of the airbag that receives the occupant when the airbag is deployed and inflated; a rigid member having higher rigidity than the tether, the rigid member being supported at an upper portion of the backrest portion so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction of the seat, the rigid member holding a portion of the tether extending from the upper portion of the backrest portion toward the shoulder of the occupant, and the rigid member moving integrally with the tether; a locking mechanism that engages with the rigid member when it has moved to a predetermined position and restricts rotational movement of the rigid member; The present invention is characterized by the following features.

[0007] According to the occupant protection device of the present invention, the left-right movement of a pair of airbags that are deployed and inflated in front of the occupant is restricted by a tether connected to the airbag, a rigid member that moves integrally with the tether, and a locking mechanism that restricts the movement of the rigid member.Therefore, even if the occupant attempts to move forward, the pair of left and right airbags are prevented from opening left and right from a position directly in front of the occupant, thereby improving occupant restraint performance.

[0008] Here, the locking mechanism can be configured to include an engagement hole provided in the rigid member, a lock pin located at the top of the backrest portion and on the trajectory of the engagement hole when the rigid member rotates around its axis, and a biasing member that biases the lock pin in the direction of engagement with the engagement hole. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0009] [Figure 1]1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a seat including the airbag device of FIG. 1. FIG. [Figure 3] 1A is a plan view of the rigid member of FIG. 1, and FIG. [Figure 4] 3A and 3B are diagrams illustrating the structure of a locking mechanism in an airbag device. [Figure 5] 10A and 10B are explanatory views of the operation of the locking mechanism. [Figure 6] 3 is a side view of the seat in the passenger protection device of the embodiment, in a state where the airbag has completed inflation. FIG. [Figure 7] 3 is a front view of the seat in the passenger protection device of the embodiment, in a state where the airbag has completed inflation. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0010] An embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to the drawings. Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. In this embodiment, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat, unless otherwise specified.

[0011] The seat 1 in FIG. 1 includes a seat portion 2 that supports the buttocks and thighs of an occupant, a backrest portion 3 that supports the upper body of the occupant, and a headrest 4 that supports the head of the occupant. The occupant protection device M of this embodiment is mounted on the seat 1 and includes a pair of left and right airbag devices AB1 and AB2. Here, the airbag device AB1 is provided on the left side of the backrest portion 3, and the airbag device AB2 is provided on the right side of the backrest portion 3. The pair of airbag devices AB1, AB2 are bilaterally symmetrical and have the same configuration, and the following description will mainly focus on the airbag device AB1, and elements of the other airbag device AB2 that have the same functions as the airbag device AB1 will be assigned the same numbers as the airbag device AB1 and will not be described.

[0012] The airbag device AB1 includes an airbag 21, an inflator 25, and a tether 31. The airbag 21 is formed into a bag shape by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape. The front portion of the airbag 21, a front inflatable section 22 (see FIG. 6), deploys and inflates in front of the occupant MP to receive the occupant and restrict forward movement of the occupant MP. The airbag 21 is formed from a flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn or polyamide yarn, and in this embodiment, it is stored in a folded state inside the backrest 3, as shown in FIG. 2.

[0013] The inflator 25 supplies inflation gas to the airbag 21. As shown in Fig. 2, the inflator 25 is fixed to the seat back frame 6 that forms the framework of the backrest 3, together with the airbag 21 in the folded state. When inflation gas is supplied from the inflator 25 to the airbag 21, the airbag 21 in the folded state begins to deploy and inflate.

[0014] In Figure 2, reference numeral 10 denotes a cushion, and 12 denotes a surface made of decorative fabric or the like. An edge 10a on the left side of the cushion 10 in the figure covers the airbag device AB1 from the front to the left side. The area sandwiched between a front corner 10c of the cushion 10 and the slit 14 is a breakable portion 10d. When inflation gas is supplied to the airbag 21 from the inflator 25 and the folded airbag 21 begins to deploy and inflate, the cushion 10 breaks at the breakable portion 10d, and the edge 10a is pushed by the airbag 21 as the airbag 21 inflates, causing it to separate from the center portion 10b of the cushion 10 as shown by the two-dot chain line in the figure.

[0015] The tether 31 is a flexible woven fabric made of polyester or polyamide yarn, and is formed in a strip shape. Before deployment, as shown in FIG. 1, it is housed inside the backrest 3 and seat 2 along the side edge of the seat 1. One end of the tether 31 is fixed to the upper part of the backrest 3. More specifically, it is fixed to a position inside the shoulders of the occupant MP in the left-right direction of the backrest 3. The other end of the tether 31 is fixed to the front end of the seat 2. As shown in Figures 6 and 7, the tether 31 is connected (sewn) to the airbag 21 so that when the airbag 21 deploys and inflates, it comes into contact with the front wall portion 22b of the front inflating portion 22 of the airbag 21, which is opposite the occupant side wall portion 22a that receives the occupant MP.When the airbag 21 begins to deploy and inflate, the tether 31 is pulled by the airbag 21 and moves from the side of the seat 1 to the front side of the seat 1, and is stretched from the top of the backrest portion 3 to the seat portion 2.

[0016] The airbag device AB1 further includes a rigid member 40 and a locking mechanism 52. The rigid member 40 is attached to the upper part of the backrest 3 and moves integrally with the tether 31. The rigid member 40 is made of a material (such as a resin material) that is more rigid than the tether 31. 3 is a view showing the rigid member 40 alone. As shown in the figure, the rigid member 40 includes a tether holding portion 41 having a long, narrow strip shape in a plan view, and a protruding portion 49 that protrudes laterally from the tether holding portion 41.

[0017] The tether holding portion 41 is composed of a main plate 42 that overlaps with part of the tether 31 when attached to the seat 1, and claw portions 43 that extend inward from both sides of the width of the main plate 42, and is capable of holding the tether 31 in an area 44 (see B in Figure 3) surrounded by these parts. A through-hole 46 is formed on the base end side of the tether holding portion 41. The rigid member 40 is attached to the backrest 3 so that the through-hole 46 engages with a shaft 47 (see FIG. 1) erected on the upper part of the backrest 3, and the rigid member 40 is rotatable in the left-right direction of the seat around the axis of the shaft 47.

[0018] On the other hand, an engagement hole 50 penetrating in the thickness direction is formed in a flat plate-like protruding portion 49 that protrudes laterally on the base end side of the tether holding portion 41. This engagement hole 50 constitutes a part of a locking mechanism 52.

[0019] 4 is a diagram showing the structure of the locking mechanism 52 in the airbag device AB1. The locking mechanism 52 includes an engagement hole 50 in the rigid member 40, a through-hole 53 provided on the backrest 3 side, a locking pin 55, a biasing member 61, and a base 62. The through-hole 53 is formed in the upper part of the backrest 3 in the vicinity of the shaft 47 (see FIG. 1) so as to penetrate the cushion 10 in the up-down direction.

[0020] The lock pin 55 is inserted through the through hole 53 and has a head portion 56 that engages with the engagement hole 50 located above the through hole 53, and a neck portion 57 that has a smaller diameter than the head portion 56. The lock pin 55 is provided on a trajectory (trajectory 51 shown by a dashed line in FIG. 5A) of the engagement hole 50 when the rigid member 40 rotates around the axis of the shaft portion 47.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 4, the base portion 62 is located below the through-hole 53 and is joined to the seat back frame 6. The biasing member 61 is composed of a coil spring that is compressed and positioned between the base portion 62 and the flange portion 58 of the lock pin 55, surrounding the neck portion 57 of the lock pin 55, and biases the lock pin 55 in the direction of engagement with the engagement hole 50. The locking mechanism 52 configured in this manner allows the rigid member 40, which rotates around the shaft 47 together with the tether 31, to move left and right in the disengaged state shown in A of FIG. 4 when the airbag 21 begins to deploy. Thereafter, when the rigid member 40 moves to a predetermined position, the head 56 of the locking pin 55 engages with the engagement hole 50 of the rigid member 40, as shown in B of FIG. 4, thereby restricting the rotational movement of the rigid member 40. Note that the locking mechanism 52 shown in FIG. 4 is just one example. Any mechanism that can fix the rigid member 40 at a predetermined position so that it cannot rotate can be appropriately adopted as the locking mechanism of the airbag device AB1.

[0022] Next, a series of operations in the occupant protection device M of this embodiment will be described. The inflators 25 of the pair of left and right airbag devices AB1, AB2 that constitute the occupant protection device M are connected to a control device (not shown). When the control device activates each inflator 25 based on a detection signal from an impact sensor (not shown), inflation gas is supplied to the pair of left and right airbags 21, 21. Then, the folded airbags 21, 21 begin to deploy and inflate, rupturing the cushion 10 at the planned rupture portion 10d, and then deploy and inflate toward the front of the seat 1. Then, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 , the left and right shoulders of the occupant MP are restrained by the front inflating portion 22 of the airbag 21.

[0023] Meanwhile, when the airbag 21 starts to deploy and inflate, the tether 31 housed inside the seat 1 is pulled by the airbag 21, breaks the planned breaking portion formed along the side edge of the seat 1, and deploys forward of the seat 1. Then, as shown in Figures 6 and 7, the tether 31 comes into contact with the front wall portion 22b of the front inflatable portion 22 of the airbag 21 and is stretched from the upper part of the backrest 3 to the seat portion 2. The airbag 21 is supported in a state where it is biased toward the occupant MP by the tension of the tether 31.

[0024] Here, as the tether 31 is deployed, the rigid member 40, which has rotated together with the tether 31, moves to a predetermined position and assumes the state shown in B of Fig. 5, i.e., the state in which the engagement hole 50 of the rigid member 40 engages with the lock pin 55 of the lock mechanism 52, and subsequent movement of the rigid member 40 is restricted. As a result, the left-right movement of the tether 31 held by the rigid member 40 and the airbag 21 connected to the tether 31 is also restricted. In other words, the left-right movement of the pair of left and right airbags 21, 21 after inflation is complete is restricted.

[0025] As described above, according to the occupant protection device M of this embodiment, the left-right movement of the pair of airbags 21, 21 that are deployed and inflated in front of the occupant MP is restricted by the tether 31 connected to the airbag 21, the rigid member 40 that moves integrally with the tether 31, and the locking mechanism 52 that restricts movement of the rigid member 40. Therefore, according to the occupant protection device M of this embodiment, even if the occupant MP attempts to move forward, the pair of left and right airbags 21, 21 are prevented from opening in the left and right directions from a position directly in front of the occupant, thereby further improving occupant restraint performance.

[0026] Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail above, these are merely examples. For example, while the above embodiments illustrate an example in which the airbag device is provided inside the backrest, it is also possible to arrange the airbag device inside the seat in some cases. Furthermore, while the above embodiments illustrate an example in which the tether is directly sewn and connected to the airbag, it is also possible to sew a generally cylindrical tether attachment portion, which has openings at both ends to allow the tether to pass through, to the front wall of the airbag, and connect the tether and the airbag via the tether attachment portion. Furthermore, it is also possible to further improve occupant restraint performance by using the tether in combination with a seat belt, which is not described in the above embodiments. Various modifications can be made to the present invention without departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0027] 1...seat, 2...seat portion, 3...backrest portion, 21...airbag, 22a...occupant side wall portion, 22b...front side wall portion, 31...tether, 40...rigid member, 50...engagement hole, 52...lock mechanism, 55...lock pin, 61...urging member, AB1, AB2...airbag device, M...occupant protection device, MP...occupant

Claims

1. An occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, a pair of left and right airbag devices configured to deploy and inflate airbags housed on the left and right sides of the seat in front of the occupant, The airbag device includes: a tether having one end fixed to an upper portion of a backrest portion of the seat and the other end fixed to a seat bottom portion of the seat, and connected to the airbag so as to contact a front wall portion of the airbag opposite to an occupant-side wall portion of the airbag that receives the occupant when the airbag is deployed and inflated; a rigid member having higher rigidity than the tether, the rigid member being supported at an upper portion of the backrest portion so as to be rotatable in the left-right direction of the seat, the rigid member holding a portion of the tether extending from the upper portion of the backrest portion toward the shoulder of the occupant, and the rigid member moving integrally with the tether; a locking mechanism that engages with the rigid member when it has moved to a predetermined position and restricts rotational movement of the rigid member; An occupant protection device comprising:

2. 2. The occupant protection device according to claim 1, wherein the locking mechanism includes an engagement hole provided in the rigid member, a lock pin located above the backrest portion and on a trajectory of the engagement hole when the rigid member rotates around an axis, and a biasing member that biases the lock pin in the direction of engagement with the engagement hole.

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