Occupant protection devices

Abstract

To provide an occupant protection device capable of quickly restraining an occupant's head and softly catching the upper half of the occupant's body.SOLUTION: An occupant protection device S for protecting an occupant MP seated on a seat 1 includes: an air bag 25; a supporter 10 that supports the folded air bag and is arranged in front of the waist MW of the occupant seated on the seat; and an inflator 17 capable of supplying an inflation gas to the air bag. The air bag has an upper half body restraint member 50 that is configured to protrude from the supporter when the inflation gas flows into the member and expand to cover the front side of the occupant and is arranged on the occupant's side when the expansion is completed to be capable of restraining the upper half MU of the occupant's body. The upper half body restraint member includes a chest restraint face 50a capable of restraining the occupant's chest MB at the time of completion of the expansion and a head restraint face 50b capable of restraining the occupant's head MH, and is configured to have the head restraint face positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint face.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical field]

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

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a passenger protection device that has a folded airbag held by a holder in front of the waist of a passenger seated in a seat, and that is configured to inflate the airbag by injecting inflation gas into the airbag, causing it to protrude from the holder and cover the front of the passenger (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this conventional passenger protection device, the airbag protects the passenger when fully inflated by a rear side region that is disposed substantially along the vertical direction so as to cover the front of the passenger's abdomen to head. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] US Patent Application Publication No. 2019 / 299899 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional passenger protection devices, the rear surface of the airbag that restrains the passenger when it is fully inflated is disposed substantially along the vertical direction, so the passenger's head is disposed farther away from this rear surface than the chest, leaving room for improvement in terms of quickly protecting the head with the fully inflated airbag. On the other hand, the chest is immediately received by the rear side of the fully inflated airbag, so there is also room for improvement in terms of softly protecting the upper body by suppressing pressure on the chest.

[0005] The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an occupant protection device that can quickly restrain the head of an occupant and softly receive the upper body. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored; A holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of the waist of an occupant seated in the seat; an inflator capable of supplying inflation gas to the airbag; The configuration includes: The airbag is configured to inflate so as to cover the front of the occupant by flowing inflation gas into the airbag and protruding from the holder, and is configured to include an upper body restraint section that is disposed on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper body of the occupant, The upper body restraint section has a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and is configured so that the head restraint surface is positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface.

[0007] In the occupant protection device of the present invention, the upper body restraint portion of the airbag is configured to have a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and when inflation of the airbag is complete, the head restraint surface is disposed closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface. Therefore, when the airbag that has completed inflation receives the occupant, the head of the occupant can be received first by the head restraint surface, and the inflated airbag can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest. As a result, in the occupant protection device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the inflated airbag from pressing the chest, and the head can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface disposed nearby.

[0008] Therefore, the passenger protection device of the present invention can quickly restrain the head of the passenger and also gently receive the upper body.

[0009] In the passenger protection device of the present invention, the airbag is A main body expansion portion; a head protection section that is disposed near an upper end of the main inflation section so as to protrude rearward when inflation is complete, and that is in communication with the main inflation section and inflated by the flow of inflation gas therein through the main inflation section; As a configuration including: The rear surface of the head protection section when it is fully inflated constitutes a head restraint surface; It is preferable that the chest restraining surface be formed by the lower rear surface of the head protection section when the main inflation section is fully inflated.

[0010] With this configuration of the occupant protection device, by disposing the head protection part so as to protrude rearward on the rear side of the upper end of the main expansion part, the head restraint surface formed by the rear surface of the head protection part when inflation is complete can be stably disposed rearward relative to the chest restraint surface formed by the rear surface of the main expansion part when inflation is complete. Therefore, when the head restraint surface receives the occupant's head, the chest restraint surface can be appropriately prevented from pressing more than necessary against the chest.

[0011] In the passenger protection device having the above-mentioned configuration, the airbag is configured from a bag constituent body that is continuously inflated from the holding body side, and the upper end side of the bag constituent body is folded back as an overlapping region so as to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region, and is arranged as follows: The overlapping area constitutes a head protection section, It is preferable that the overlapping region constitutes a main body expansion portion.

[0012] With such an occupant protection device, the head protecting portion (overlapping region) and the main body inflatable portion (overlapping region) are formed from an integrated bag component, and the head protecting portion (overlapping region) can be folded and arranged to overlap the main body inflatable portion (overlapping region), which makes it possible to provide a simpler configuration and easier manufacturing than when the head protecting portion is formed as a separate body. Also, with the occupant protection device configured as above, the head protecting portion can be formed into a substantially plate-like shape upon full inflation, and the rear surface upon full inflation, i.e., the head restraining surface, can be arranged widely in all directions, up, down, left and right, without partial protrusion, in front of the occupant's head, so that even if the position of the head is slightly shifted left and right, the occupant's head can be accurately restrained by the head restraining surface.

[0013] Specifically, the head protection section may be configured so that the left and right edge sides when inflation is complete are connected to the main inflation section, and the front side when inflation is complete is connected to the rear side of the head protection section.

[0014] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device having the above-mentioned configuration, it is preferable that the airbag has a supported surface on the lower surface side when the airbag is fully inflated, which is in contact with the thighs of the occupant and is supported by the thighs when the upper body restraint section receives the upper body of the occupant, and that the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set within a range of 90° to 150° when the airbag is inflated alone. With such an airbag configuration, the airbag can be inflated quickly so that the head restraint surface is brought closer to the head of the occupant than in the case where the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°. Therefore, the head of the occupant can be restrained more quickly by the head restraint surface. In addition, since the chest restraint surface can be brought closer to the occupant than in the case where the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, the chest of the occupant in a state where the head is restrained by the head restraint surface can be protected quickly while suppressing the chest restraint surface from pressing more than necessary. Furthermore, in an airbag of the above configuration, the actual distance between the upper body restraint portion (chest restraint surface) and the supported surface can be increased compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°.Therefore, when the upper body restraint portion receives the upper body of the occupant with the supported surface supported by the thighs, when the upper body of the occupant presses the upper body restraint portion toward the supported surface while compressing the airbag, the reaction force received from the thighs can be increased, thereby improving the occupant restraint performance. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat of FIG. [Diagram 3] FIG. 2 is a front view of the seat of FIG. 1, showing the seat belt fastened. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an airbag used in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment is inflated by itself; [Diagram 5]FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a rear view of the airbag of FIG. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is a plan view in which the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. 4 are arranged. [Figure 8] 1 is a front view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment; [Figure 9] 1 is a side view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in the occupant protection device according to an embodiment. [Figure 10] 1 is a side view showing a state in which an occupant is restrained by an airbag that has completed inflation in the occupant protection device according to the embodiment; [Figure 11] FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing an airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention in a state in which the airbag is inflated by itself. [Figure 12] FIG. 12 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 12 is a rear view of the airbag of FIG. [Figure 14] FIG. 12 is a plan view of the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. 11 arranged side by side. [Figure 15] 12 is a side view of a seat in a passenger protection device using the airbag of FIG. 11 in a state where the airbag has completed inflation. FIG. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the embodiment, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions of the seat 1, unless otherwise specified. As shown in Figs. 1 to 3, an occupant protection device S of the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle seat 1, and is configured to include a seat belt 7 constituting a holder for holding an airbag 25, the airbag 25, and an inflator 17 for supplying inflation gas to the airbag 25. The seat 1 includes a backrest portion 2 and a seat portion 3.

[0017] In the embodiment, the seat belt 7 is mounted on the seat 1 and includes a belt body 8 for restraining an occupant MP seated on the seat 1, a tongue plate 12 attached to the belt body 8, and a buckle 13 for connecting the tongue plate 12. One end of the belt body 8 is fastened to a winding shaft of a retractor (not shown) disposed in the backrest 2, and the other end is fastened to an anchor member 14 (see Figs. 1 and 2) disposed to the left of the rear end 3b of the seat part 3 of the seat 1. In detail, the belt body 8 is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2, and in the embodiment, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 as a holder for holding the airbag 25 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In detail, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 at the left edge 2a side of the backrest 2 so as to extend substantially along the up-down direction, as shown in Fig. 1. The belt main body 8 has the lap belt 10 and a shoulder belt 9 stored in the backrest 2, and when the occupant MP is seated, with the tongue plate 12 connected to the buckle 13, the lap belt 10 arranged substantially along the left-right direction between the anchor member 14 and the buckle 13 restrains the lower body MD (lumbar region MW) of the occupant MP, and the shoulder belt 9 extending from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2 and arranged diagonally to the buckle 13 restrains the upper body MU (from the shoulders MS to the chest MB) of the occupant MP (see Fig. 3). In this embodiment, when an occupant is seated, the lap belt 10, which is disposed in front of the waist MW of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, and a cover 22, which will be described later, constitute a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag 25. In the seat belt 7, a retractor (not shown) disposed in the backrest 2 has a pretensioner mechanism.

[0018] The inflator 17 is mounted on the seat 1, and in this embodiment, more specifically, it is disposed at a position below the seat surface 3a of the seat 1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the inflator 17 includes an inflator body 18 (detailed illustration is omitted) having a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and a pipe section 19 extending from the inflator body 18 to supply inflation gas to the airbag 25. The pipe section 19 extends from the inflator body 18 and is disposed so that its tip is located near the boundary between the seat section 3 and the backrest section 2 on the left side of the seat 1, and this tip is configured to be connected to a conduit section 55 of the airbag 25, which will be described later, by using a clamp 20 (see FIG. 9). In this embodiment, the inflator 17 is set to start operating later than the pretensioner mechanism of the seatbelt 7 in order to regulate the withdrawal of the belt body 8 of the seatbelt 7 due to the inflation of the airbag 25. Specifically, the inflator 17 is set to operate 5 ms after the operation of the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7.

[0019] The airbag 25 is folded into a long shape while being held by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 as a holder, and the periphery is covered by the cover 22. Specifically, the airbag 25 is arranged in the area of ​​the lap belt 10, covered by the cover 22, and overlapped on the upper surface side of the lap belt 10 when the seat belt 7 is worn (see FIG. 3). In other words, the airbag 25 is folded and stored in the gap between the lap belt 10 and the cover 22. In addition, in the non-worn state as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 25 is arranged on the back side (backrest 2 side) of the lap belt 10 exposed on the front surface of the backrest 2. The cover 22 is made of a flexible sheet body, and is configured to be broken at a predetermined location when the airbag 25 is deployed and inflated, so that a bag body 26 of the airbag 25, which will be described later, can be projected.

[0020] The airbag 25 is in the form of a bag made of a flexible sheet, and as shown in Figures 4 to 6, includes a bag body 26, a conduit portion 55 connected to the inflator 17 for flowing inflation gas into the bag body 26, and an attachment portion 57 for connecting the bag body 26 to the lap belt 10.

[0021] In this embodiment, the bag body 26 includes a main body inflatable portion 27 and a head protection portion 40 disposed on the side of an upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27 when inflation is complete.

[0022] The main body inflatable section 27 has an outer shape at the time of completion of inflation that is a substantially triangular prism shape with the axial direction substantially aligned with the left-right direction and that is wider from front to back toward the lower end as shown in Figs. 4 and 5, and is configured to have an occupant side wall section 35 that is disposed on the occupant MP side at the time of completion of inflation, a front wall section 29 that is disposed opposite the occupant side wall section 35 in the front-rear direction, a lower wall section 30 that is disposed on the lower end side at the time of completion of inflation, and a left wall section 31 and a right wall section 32 that are disposed opposite each other in the left-right direction at the time of completion of inflation. The left wall section 31 and the right wall section 32 are formed with vent holes 37, 37 that can exhaust excess inflation gas that has flowed into the inside. The main body inflatable section 27 is configured so that the intersection angle α between the lower wall section 30 (supported surface 52) and the occupant side wall section 35 (chest restraining surface 50a) is set within a range of 90° to 150° when inflated by itself as shown in Fig. 5. Specifically, the intersection angle α between the lower wall portion 30 and the occupant side wall portion 35 in a cross section taken approximately along the front-rear direction when the seat is inflated by itself (more specifically, the intersection angle α between the tangents to the lower wall portion 30 and the occupant side wall portion 35, see FIG. 5) is set to about 120°. If the intersection angle α is less than 90°, the separation distance between the head restraining surface 50b and the head MH at the completion of inflation is large, and the head MH cannot be restrained quickly. Conversely, if the intersection angle α exceeds 150°, there is a risk that the head MH of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1 will be excessively restrained by the head restraining surface 50b.

[0023] The main body inflatable portion 27 is set such that the front-rear width dimension of the lower end when fully inflated is such that the front end of the lower wall portion 30 (front lower end 27b of the main body inflatable portion 27) is positioned slightly forward of the knees K of the occupant MP, and the vertical width dimension of the rear end when fully inflated is such that the upper end 27a (upper end of the occupant-side wall portion 35) is positioned in front of the head MH of the occupant MP (more specifically, approximately equivalent to the upper end of the headrest 4 disposed above the backrest 2 of the seat 1) (see FIG. 9). The main body inflatable portion 27 is also configured such that the left-right width dimension when fully inflated is smaller than the backrest 2 of the seat 1 and approximately equivalent to the upper body MU of the occupant MP so as to stably protect the upper body MU of the occupant MP (see FIG. 8).

[0024] The head protection part 40 is disposed so as to protrude rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable part 27 when inflation is complete, and is in the shape of a bag separate from the main body inflatable part 27. The head protection part 40 has a front wall part 41 and a rear wall part 42 that are generally rectangular and wide on the left and right, and is configured to have a generally rectangular plate shape when inflation is complete, and is in communication with the main body inflatable part 27 through a communication hole 45 formed on the front wall part 41 side. The communication hole 45 is configured of an opening 41a formed in the front wall part 41 of the head protection part 40 and an opening 35b formed corresponding to the upper end side of the occupant side wall part 35 of the main body inflatable part 27, and two of them are arranged side by side on the left and right sides as generally circular shapes. The head protection part 40 is connected to the main body inflatable part 27 by joining the periphery of the opening 41a constituting the communication hole 45 to the periphery of the opening 35b formed in the occupant side wall part 35 of the main body inflatable part 27 over the entire circumference. The communication hole 45 is disposed at a position below the vertical center of the head protection portion 40. When the head protection portion 40 is fully inflated, an area of ​​about the upper half of the head protection portion 40 protrudes upward from the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27, and is disposed at a position in front of the head MH of the occupant MP seated on the seat 1. Specifically, the vertical width dimension at the time of full inflation is set to a dimension such that the upper end 40a is positioned above the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27, and is positioned at a position above the upper end of the headrest 4. The head protection portion 40 is configured such that the left-right width dimension at the time of full inflation is substantially equal to the left-right width dimension of the area on the side of the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27 (see FIG. 6).

[0025] In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflating portion 27 and the head protection portion 40 constitute an upper body restraint portion 50 capable of restraining the upper body MU of the occupant MP when inflation is complete. The upper body restraint portion 50 includes a chest restraining surface 50a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when inflation is complete, and a head restraining surface 50b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP. In the embodiment, the rear surface 42a of the rear wall portion 42 of the head protection portion 40 constitutes the head restraining surface 50b, and the rear surface 35a of the lower region of the head protection portion 40 in the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflating portion 27 constitutes the chest restraining surface 50a. That is, in the bag body 26 of the embodiment, when inflation of the airbag 25 is complete, the head restraining surface 50b is disposed in a position rearward of the chest restraining surface 50a (i.e., a position on the occupant MP side) (see FIG. 9). In this embodiment, the thorax restraining surface 50a restrains the occupant MP from the abdomen MA to the thorax MB.

[0026] In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30 of the main body inflating portion 27 constitutes a supported surface 52 that comes into contact with the thighs MT of the occupant MP and is supported by the thighs MT when the bag body 26 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP when fully inflated. In detail, the supported surface 52 is constituted by the lower surface 30a side of the region in front of the conduit portion 55 in the lower wall portion 30. The lower wall portion 30 is disposed with a slight forward inclination (see FIG. 9) before receiving the occupant MP when the bag body 26 is fully inflated. The bag body 26 is communicated with the conduit portion 55 through a communication hole (reference numeral omitted) at a portion on the rear lower end side at the fully inflated state (a portion on the rear lower end 27c side of the main body inflating portion 27, which is a portion on the rear end side of the lower wall portion 30) (see FIG. 5).

[0027] The conduit 55 extends leftward from the bag body 26, has a generally cylindrical shape with an open tip 55a, and is connected to the pipe 19 of the inflator 17. The conduit 55 is arranged generally along the left-right direction so as to be generally along the lap belt 10 when the airbag 25 is fully inflated (see FIG. 9). The conduit 55 is connected to the pipe 19 of the inflator 17 by using the clamp 20 at the tip 55a, as described above. The attachment 57 for attaching the bag body 26 to the lap belt 10 is sewn to the lower surface of the conduit 55, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The attachment 57 is generally cylindrical with open ends so that the lap belt 10 can be inserted therethrough. The airbag 25 is connected to the lap belt 10 and held thereby by inserting the lap belt 10 through the attachment 57.

[0028] 7, the airbag 25 of this embodiment is formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and is composed of a main body panel 60 constituting the main body inflatable portion 27, a head protection portion panel 68 constituting the head protection portion 40, conduit portion panels 72, 73 constituting the conduit portion 55, and an attachment portion panel 75 constituting the attachment portion 57. The main body panel 60, head protection portion panel 68, conduit portion panels 72, 73, and attachment portion panel 75 are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

[0029] The main body panel 60 includes an occupant-side panel 61 and a front panel 65. The occupant-side panel 61 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and mainly constitutes the area from the occupant-side wall portion 35 to the lower wall portion 30. Specifically, the occupant-side panel 61 includes an upper portion 62 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35, and a lower portion 63 that mainly constitutes the lower wall portion 30, and has an outer shape in which the upper portion 62 and the lower portion 63 are connected by a portion that constitutes the rear lower end 27c side of the main body inflation portion 27. The upper portion 62 constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35 and the rear areas of the left wall portion 31 and the right wall portion 32. The lower portion 63 constitutes the lower wall portion 30 and the lower areas of the left wall portion 31 and the right wall portion 32. The front panel 65 mainly constitutes the front wall 29 (specifically, the front area of ​​the front wall 29 and the left and right walls 31 and 32) in the main body inflatable portion 27, and is configured so that its outer shape when flattened out is approximately the same as that of the lower and upper regions 63 and 62 in an open state in which the remaining connected edges (upper edge 62c, front edge 63c) of the lower left edge 62a and the rear left edge 63a, and the lower right edge 62b and the rear right edge 63b, located on the left and right of the connecting portion 61a connecting the upper and lower regions 62 and 63 in the occupant side panel 61, are spaced apart. The front panel 65 and the occupant side panel 61 are symmetrical to each other. The main body inflation portion 27 is made bag-shaped by connecting the outer peripheral edge 65a of the front panel 65 to the upper edge 62c and front edge 63c of the occupant side panel 61 in a state in which the lower left edge 62a and the rear left edge 63a, and the lower right edge 62b and the rear right edge 63b are connected to each other as described above.

[0030] The head protecting section panel 68 includes a front panel 69 and a rear panel 70. The front panel 69 and the rear panel 70 have the same outer shape and are generally rectangular. The front panel 69 constitutes the front wall 41 of the head protecting section 40, and the rear panel 70 constitutes the rear wall 42 of the head protecting section 40. The head protecting section 40 is formed into a bag shape by joining the outer peripheral edges 69a, 70a of the front panel 69 and the rear panel 70 to each other.

[0031] The two conduit panels 72, 73 have the same outer shape and respectively constitute the upper and lower regions of the conduit 55. The attachment panel 75 has a generally rectangular outer shape and is folded in half to form the attachment section 57 by joining the edges on the shorter side.

[0032] In the embodiment of the occupant protection device S, when an occupant MP is seated in a seat 1 mounted in a vehicle with a seat belt 7 fastened, and the inflator 17 is activated, the inflation gas discharged from the inflator 17 flows into the bag body 26 via the conduit portion 55, and the bag body 26 breaks the cover 22 and protrudes forward and upward from the lap belt 10 serving as a retainer, completing inflation as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 and in FIGS. 8 and 9.

[0033] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the upper body restraint section 50 of the airbag 25 is configured to have a chest restraint surface 50a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, and a head restraint surface 50b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP, and when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, the head restraint surface 50b is disposed closer to the occupant MP (rearward) than the chest restraint surface 50a. Therefore, when the airbag 25 that has fully inflated receives the occupant MP, the head MH of the occupant MP can be received by the head restraint surface 50b first (see FIG. 10), and the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest MB. As a result, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from pressing the chest MB, and the head MH can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface 50b disposed nearby.

[0034] Therefore, the occupant protection device S of the embodiment can quickly restrain the head MH of the occupant MP, and can also gently receive the upper body MU.

[0035] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the bag body 26 of the airbag 25 is configured to include the main body inflatable portion 27 and the head protecting portion 40 that protrudes rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27 when inflation is complete, and the rear surface 42a of the head protecting portion 40 when inflation is complete constitutes the head restraining surface 50b, and the lower rear surface 35a of the head protecting portion 40 when inflation is complete constitutes the chest restraining surface 50a in the main body inflatable portion 27. That is, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, by disposing the head protecting portion 40 that protrudes rearward on the rear surface side of the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable portion 27, the head restraining surface 50b constituted by the rear surface 42a of the head protecting portion 40 when inflation is complete can be stably positioned rearward of the chest restraining surface 50a constituted by the rear surface 35a of the main body inflatable portion 27 when inflation is complete. Therefore, when the head MH of the occupant MP is received by the head restraining surface 50b, the thorax restraining surface 50a can be appropriately prevented from pressing the thorax MB more than necessary.

[0036] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, when the main body inflating portion 27 is inflated by itself, the intersection angle α between the chest restraining surface 50a (occupant side wall portion 35) and the supported surface 52 (lower wall portion 30) is set within a range of 90° to 150° (about 120° in the case of the embodiment). Therefore, compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraining surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, the airbag 25 can be inflated quickly so that the head restraining surface 50b approaches the head MH of the occupant MP, and the head MH of the occupant MP can be restrained by the head restraining surface 50b more quickly. In addition, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the chest restraining surface 50a can also be brought closer to the occupant MP compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraining surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, so that the chest MB of the occupant MP in a state in which the head MH is restrained by the head restraining surface 50b can be protected quickly while suppressing the chest restraining surface 50a from pressing more than necessary. Furthermore, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the actual distance between the upper body restraint section 50 (chest restraint surface 50a) and the supported surface 52 can be made larger compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°.Therefore, when the airbag 25 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP with the upper body restraint section 50 with the supported surface 52 supported by the thighs MT, when the upper body MU of the occupant MP presses the upper body restraint section 50 toward the supported surface 52 while compressing the airbag 25, the reaction force received from the thighs MT can be increased, thereby improving the restraint performance of the occupant MP.

[0037] Next, an airbag 80 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in Figs. 11 to 13, the airbag 80 includes a bag body 81, a conduit section 55A connected to the inflator 17 to allow inflation gas to flow into the bag body 81, and an attachment section 57A for connecting the bag body 81 to the lap belt 10. In the airbag 80, the components other than the bag body 81 (i.e., the conduit section 55A and the attachment section 57A) are the same as the conduit section 55 and the attachment section 57 in the airbag 25 described above, and therefore the same reference numerals are designated with the suffix "A" and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0038] In the case of the embodiment, the bag body 81 includes a main body inflatable portion 27A and a head protection portion 85 disposed on the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable portion 27A when inflation is complete. In this airbag 80, the bag body 81 is composed of a bag constituent body 83 that is continuously inflated from the lap belt 10 side as a retainer, i.e., the lower end side (see Figs. 12 and 15), and is formed such that the upper end side portion of this bag constituent body 83 is folded back and arranged to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region 83b as an overlapping region 83a. In the bag body of the embodiment, the overlapping region 83a of the bag constituent body 83 constitutes the head protection portion 85, and the overlapped region 83b constitutes the main body inflatable portion 27A.

[0039] The main body inflatable portion 27A formed by the overlapping region 83b in the bag structure 83 has substantially the same configuration as the main body inflatable portion 27 in the airbag 25 described above, except that the upper end 27a side is connected to the upper end 85a side of the head protection portion 85 over substantially the entire left and right area. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given the suffix "A" and detailed explanations are omitted.

[0040] The head protection portion 85 is disposed so as to protrude rearward near the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27A when inflation is complete, and is constituted by the overlapping region 83a of the bag constituent body 83 as described above. That is, the upper end 85a of the head protection portion 85 is connected to the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27A over the entire left and right area by folding back the upper end side region of the bag constituent body 83. The head protection portion 85 is configured so that the upper end 85a is disposed at a position substantially equal to the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27A and substantially equal to the upper end of the headrest 4 (see FIG. 15). The head protection part 85 has a generally trapezoidal front wall part 86 and a rear wall part 87 that are slightly wider in the left and right directions toward the lower end, and is configured to have a generally trapezoidal shape when fully inflated (see FIG. 13), with the left and right width dimensions at the time of full inflation being generally equal to the left and right width dimensions of the region at the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable part 27A. The front side of the head protection part 85 at the time of full inflation is connected to the rear side of the main body inflatable part 27A by a seam part 90 formed to join the front wall part 86 to the occupant side wall part 35A of the main body inflatable part 27A, and the left edge 85b side and the right edge 85c side at the time of full inflation are connected to the main body inflatable part 27A side by tethers 92L, 92R. As shown in Fig. 12, the seam portion 90 is formed by directly joining (stitching) the front wall portion 86 and the occupant side wall portion 35A, and is formed in an elliptical shape with a wider width on the left and right sides, at a position below the center from top to bottom of the head protection portion 85 (see Fig. 13). The tethers 92L, 92R are formed as strips made of flexible sheets separate from the bag main body 81, and are arranged substantially along the front-to-rear direction when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, with the lower ends of the left edge 85b side and the right edge 85c side of the head protection portion 85 being connected to the left edge 27d side and the right edge 27e side of the main body inflatable portion 27A. In the embodiment, the seam portion 90 and the tethers 92L, 92R are arranged so that their positions on the top-to-bottom side are substantially aligned (see Fig. 13).

[0041] In this bag body 81, the occupant side wall 35A of the main body inflating portion 27A and the head protection portion 85 form an upper body restraining portion 95 capable of restraining the upper body MU of the occupant MP when inflation is complete. The upper body restraining portion 95 includes a chest restraining surface 95a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when inflation is complete, and a head restraining surface 95b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP. In this bag body 81, the rear surface 87a of the rear wall 87 of the head protection portion 85 forms the head restraining surface 95b, and the rear surface 35a of the lower region of the head protection portion 85 in the occupant side wall 35A of the main body inflating portion 27A forms the chest restraining surface 95a. That is, in the bag body 81, when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, the head restraining surface 95b is disposed at a position rearward of the chest restraining surface 95a (i.e., a position on the occupant MP side) (see FIG. 15). The chest restraining surface 95a restrains the occupant MP from the abdomen MA to the chest MB. Furthermore, in the bag main body 81, the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30A of the main body inflating portion 27A also forms a supported surface 52A that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag main body 81 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP upon completion of inflation.

[0042] This airbag 80 is also formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 14, it is composed of a component panel 100 that constitutes the bag body 81 (bag component 83), conduit portion panels 72A, 73A that constitute the conduit portion 55A, an attachment portion panel 75A that constitutes the attachment portion 57A, and tethers 92L, 92R.

[0043] The component panel 100 includes an occupant-side panel 101 and a front panel 65. The occupant-side panel 101 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and constitutes the portion of the main body inflatable portion 27A that mainly extends from the occupant-side wall portion 35A to the lower wall portion 30A, and the front wall portion 86 of the head protection portion 85. Specifically, the occupant-side panel 101 is configured to connect an upper portion 102 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35A, a lower portion 103 that mainly constitutes the lower wall portion 30A, and a head protection portion 104 that constitutes the front wall portion 86 of the head protection portion 85, in the main body inflatable portion 27A, and the upper portion 102 and the lower portion 103 have substantially the same shape as the upper portion 62 and the lower portion 63 of the occupant-side panel 61 in the airbag 25 described above. The front panel 106 is configured to connect a front wall component 107 which mainly constitutes the front wall 29A (specifically, the front area of ​​the front wall 29A, and the left wall 31A and the right wall 32A) in the main inflation portion 27A to a head protecting portion 108 which constitutes the rear wall 87 in the head protecting portion 85, and the front wall component 107 has approximately the same shape as the front panel 69 in the airbag 25 described above. The bag structure 83 is made bag-shaped by connecting the outer peripheral edges 107a, 108a of the front wall structure 107 and the head protecting portion 108 in the front panel 106 to the upper edge 102c, the front edge 103c to the outer peripheral edge 104a of the head protecting portion 104 in the occupant side panel 101 in a state in which the lower left edge 102a, the rear left edge 103a are connected to each other, and the lower right edge 102b, the rear right edge 103b are connected to each other, respectively.

[0044] In the occupant protection device using the airbag 80 having such a configuration, the upper body restraint portion 95 of the airbag 80 is configured to have a chest restraint surface 95a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, and a head restraint surface 95b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP, and when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, the head restraint surface 95b is disposed closer to the occupant MP than the chest restraint surface 95a. Therefore, when the airbag 80 that has fully inflated receives the occupant MP, the head MH of the occupant MP can be received by the head restraint surface 95b first, and the inflated airbag 80 can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest MB. As a result, in the occupant protection device using the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the inflated airbag 80 can be prevented from pressing the chest MB, and the head MH can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface 95b disposed nearby.

[0045] Also, in the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the bag body 26 is configured to include the main body inflatable portion 27A and the head protection portion 85 that protrudes rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27A when inflation is complete, and the rear surface 87a of the head protection portion 85 when inflation is complete constitutes the head restraining surface 95b, and the lower rear surface 35a of the head protection portion 85 when inflation is complete constitutes the thorax restraining surface 95a, so that the head restraining surface 95b can be stably positioned rearward of the thorax restraining surface 95a. Therefore, when the head MH of the occupant MP is received by the head restraining surface 95b, the thorax restraining surface 95a can be appropriately prevented from pressing the thorax MB more than necessary.

[0046] In addition, in airbag 80 having the above configuration, bag main body 81 is configured from bag constituent body 83 in which head protecting section 85 (overlapping region 83a) and main body inflatable section 27A (overlapped region 83b) are integrated, so head protecting section 85 can be arranged to be folded and overlapped with main body inflatable section 27A, which is a simpler configuration and easier to manufacture than the case in which head protecting section 40 is configured as a separate body from main body inflatable section 27 as in airbag 25 described above. In addition, in airbag 80 having the above configuration, head protecting section 85 can be made to have a substantially plate-like shape when fully inflated, and rear surface 87a at the time of full inflation, i.e., head restraining surface 95b, can be arranged widely in all directions, up, down, left and right, without partial protrusion, in front of head MH of occupant MP, so that head MH of occupant MP can be accurately restrained by head restraining surface 95b even if the position of head MH is slightly shifted left and right. Incidentally, in the airbag 25 described above, the head protection portion 40 is connected to the main body inflation portion 27 by joining the front wall portion 41 and the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflation portion 27 around the periphery of the communication hole 45, so that it is thick and easy to inflate and can protect the head MH of the occupant MP. However, when inflation is complete, the rear wall portion 42 is positioned with a large curve so that the center is positioned rearward.

[0047] In the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the left edge 85b and the right edge 85c of the head protection portion 85 at the time of completion of inflation are connected to the main body inflatable portion 27A by the tethers 92L and 92R, and the front side at the time of completion of inflation is connected to the rear side of the main body inflatable portion 27A by the seam portion 90, so that the head protection portion 85 is maintained in a folded-back state with respect to the main body inflatable portion 27A. As a means for maintaining such a folded-back state, the seam portion and the tether are only examples, and other means (for example, adhesion by adhesive or the like) may be used. Also, with regard to the seam portion and the tether, a configuration may be adopted in which only one of them is provided. From the viewpoint of suppressing a large curvature of the rear wall portion 87 at the time of completion of inflation, it is preferable to connect both the left and right edges of the head protection portion to the main body inflatable portion.

[0048] In the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 is used as a holder for holding the airbag 25, 80, but the holder for holding the airbag is not limited to the lap belt, and for example, a holder separate from the seat belt may be disposed in front of the waist of the passenger seated in the seat, and the airbag may be held by this holder. In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, although the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 holds the airbag 25, 80, the inflator 17 operates with a delay (about 5 ms) from the operation of the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7, so that the airbag 25 can be inflated while the seat belt 7 stably maintains the seated state of the passenger MP against the seat 1, and the airbag 25 and the seat belt 7 can stably protect the passenger MP.

[0049] In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the seat belt 7 and the inflator 17 are configured to be mounted on the seat 1. Therefore, even when the seat 1 is used in a state where it is moved relative to the vehicle by sliding it significantly back and forth or rotating it, the passenger MP seated on the seat 1 can be adequately protected by the airbag 25. Of course, the passenger protection device of the present invention is not limited to a seat configured as described above, and can also be mounted on a type of seat that restrains the passenger with a seat belt having a retractor provided on the vehicle body side. Also, the inflator may be configured to be attached to the vehicle body side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1...seat, 7...seat belt, 10...lap belt (retaining body), 17...inflator, 25,80...airbag, 27,27A...main body inflation portion, 30,30A...lower wall portion, 30a...lower surface, 35,35A...occupant side wall portion, 35a...rear surface, 40,85...head protection portion, 42,87...rear wall portion, 42a,87a...rear surface, 50,95...upper body restraint portion, 50a,95a...chest restraint surface, 50b,95b...head restraint surface, 52,52A...supported surface, 83...bag structure, 83a...overlapped region, 83b...overlapped region, MP...occupant, MU...upper body, MH...head, MB...chest, MT...thigh, S...occupant protection device.

Claims

1. An occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored; a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of a waist of an occupant seated in the seat; an inflator capable of supplying inflation gas to the airbag; The configuration includes: The airbag is configured to inflate so as to cover a front of the occupant by flowing inflation gas thereinto and protruding from the holder, and is configured to include an upper body restraint section that is disposed on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper body of the occupant, the upper body restraint portion has a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and is configured to be positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface, The airbag, A main body expansion portion; a head protection section that is disposed near an upper end of the main inflation section so as to protrude rearward when inflation is complete, and that is in communication with the main inflation section and inflated by the flow of inflation gas therein through the main inflation section; The configuration includes: A rear surface of the head protection portion when the inflation is completed constitutes the head restraint surface, In the main inflation portion, a rear surface of a lower side of the head protection portion at the time of completion of inflation constitutes the chest restraint surface, The airbag is configured to be made of a bag constituent that is continuously inflated from the holding body side, and a portion of an upper end side of the bag constituent is folded back as an overlapping region so as to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region, and is configured to be arranged, The overlapping region constitutes the head protection portion, An occupant protection device, wherein the overlapping region constitutes the main body inflatable portion.

2. 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, wherein the head protection portion has left and right edge sides connected to the main inflation portion when fully inflated.

3. 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, wherein a front side of the head protection portion when fully inflated is connected to a rear side of the main inflatable portion.

4. The occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the airbag is configured to have a supported surface on its underside when inflation is complete, which abuts against and is supported by the thighs of the occupant when the upper body restraint section receives the upper body of the occupant, and is configured so that when the airbag is inflated alone, the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set within the range of 90° to 150°.

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