Occupant protection devices

Abstract

To provide an occupant protection device capable of properly catching an occupant with an air bag which completes expansion.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 stores and supports the folded air bag and is arranged in front of the waist of the occupant seated on the seat; and an inflator 17 capable of supplying an inflation gas to the air bag. The air bag includes: a body expansion part 27 that covers the occupant's front side when the expansion is completed; and a rear protruding section 40 that is arranged to make the inflation gas flow into the air bag via the body expansion part and protrude rearward from the body expansion part. The rear protruding part is formed to be continued from an outer peripheral edge of the body expansion part, is arranged at the back of the body expansion part while being folded from the body expansion part, and communicates with the body expansion part at a folded region 43.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 configuration in which a folded airbag is placed in front of the waist of a passenger seated in a seat so as to be held by a holder, and the airbag is inflated by flowing 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 has a protruding portion that partially protrudes rearward (toward the passenger) on the upper end side when the airbag is fully inflated. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Special publication 2003-519040 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional occupant protection devices, the protrusion is simply arranged to protrude partially on the airbag when it is fully inflated, so when the protrusion receives an occupant, the internal pressure of the entire airbag increases, leaving room for improvement in terms of efficiently receiving the occupant with the protrusion.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE PRESENT INVETION The present invention is devised to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an occupant protection device that is capable of properly supporting an occupant with an airbag when fully inflated. [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 include a main inflatable portion that covers the front of the occupant when inflated, and a rear protruding portion that allows inflation gas to flow into the airbag through the main inflatable portion and is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the main inflatable portion, The rear protrusion is formed so as to continue from the outer peripheral edge of the main body expansion portion, and is arranged on the rear side of the main body expansion portion so as to be folded back onto the main body expansion portion, and is connected to the main body expansion portion at the folded back portion.

[0007] In the passenger protection device of the present invention, the rear protrusion, which is arranged to protrude rearward from the main inflation portion in the airbag when inflation is complete, is folded back relative to the main inflation portion and arranged on the rear side of the main inflation portion, and this rear protrusion is connected to the main inflation portion at the folded back portion. Therefore, when the rear protrusion receives an occupant, the inflation gas flowing into the rear protrusion is prevented from flowing out to the main inflation portion to some extent. In addition, when the rear protrusion receives an occupant, deformation of the rear protrusion that would increase the width dimension in the direction along the folded back portion is also prevented. Therefore, in the passenger protection device of the present invention, the rear protrusion, which is in a state in which large deformation is prevented, can maintain a high internal pressure and accurately restrain the occupant.

[0008] Therefore, in the passenger protection device of the present invention, the passenger can be appropriately supported by the airbag when it has completed inflation.

[0009] Specifically, the rear protrusion may be formed so as to continue from the upper edge side of the main body inflating portion, and in this configuration, the rear protrusion can form a head protection portion capable of restraining the head of the occupant and a shoulder restraining portion capable of restraining the left and right shoulders of the occupant. Also, the rear protrusion may be formed so as to continue from the left edge side and / or the right edge side of the main body inflating portion, and in this configuration, the rear protrusion can form a head protection portion capable of restraining the head of the occupant and a shoulder restraining portion capable of restraining the left and right shoulders of the occupant.

[0010] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device of the present invention, if the peripheral wall extending from the folded-back portion in the rear protrusion is formed by connecting the outer peripheral edges of the front wall portion on the main body inflation portion side and the rear wall portion located at the rear, the folded-back portion becomes approximately straight, and when the rear protrusion receives an occupant, it is possible to further suppress the outflow of inflation gas flowing into the rear protrusion toward the main body inflation portion, which is preferable. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [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 longitudinal sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 11 in the region of a shoulder restraint portion. [Figure 13] FIG. 12 is a plan view of the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. 11 arranged side by side. [Figure 14] 12 is a plan 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. [Figure 15] 12 is a front 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. [Figure 16] FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing an airbag according to still another embodiment of the present invention in a state in which the airbag is inflated by itself. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] 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.

[0013] 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.

[0014] 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.

[0015] 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.

[0016] The airbag 25 is in the form of a bag formed from a flexible sheet body, and as shown in Figures 4 to 6, is provided with a bag body 26, a conduit portion 55 connected to the inflator 17 to flow inflation gas into the bag body 26, and an attachment portion 57 for connecting the bag body 26 to the lap belt 10.

[0017] In this embodiment, the bag body 26 includes a main body inflatable portion 27 and a head protection portion 40 serving as a rear protruding portion that is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the main body inflatable portion 27.

[0018] The main body inflation section 27 has an outer shape at the time of completion of inflation that is substantially triangular prism-shaped with the axial direction substantially aligned with the left-right direction and 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 disposed on the occupant MP side at the time of completion of inflation, a front wall section 29 disposed opposite the occupant-side wall section 35 in the front-rear direction, a lower wall section 30 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 disposed opposite 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 that can exhaust excess inflation gas that has flowed into the inside. The main body inflation section 27 is configured such that the intersection angle α between the lower wall section 30 and the occupant-side wall section 35 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 fore-and-aft direction when the lower wall portion 30 is inflated alone (more specifically, the intersection angle α between the tangents to the lower wall portion 30 and the occupant side wall portion 35, see Figure 5) is set to approximately 120°.

[0019] The main body inflatable portion 27 is set so that the front-rear width dimension of the lower end side when fully inflated is set to a dimension such that the front end of the lower wall portion 30 (the front lower end of the main body inflatable portion 27) is located slightly forward of the knees K of the occupant MP, and the vertical width dimension of the rear end side when fully inflated is set so that the upper end 27a (the upper end of the occupant-side wall portion) is located 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 portion 2 of the seat 1) (see FIG. 9). The main body inflatable portion 27 is also configured so that the left-right width dimension when fully inflated is smaller than the backrest portion 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).

[0020] The head protection section 40 as the rear protrusion is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the main body inflatable section 27 near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable section 27 when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, and is formed so as to be continuous with the upper edge side of the main body inflatable section 27, and is disposed on the rear side of the main body inflatable section 27 so as to be folded back with respect to the main body inflatable section 27. The head protection section 40 is disposed in a position in front of the head MH of the occupant MP when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, and is configured to be able to restrain the head MH. The head protection section 40 is connected to the main body inflatable section 27 at a folded back portion 43 on the upper end 40a side. The head protection section 40 has a width dimension on the left and right sides when fully inflated substantially equal to the width dimension on the left and right sides of the upper end region of the main body inflatable section 27, and has a substantially trapezoidal shape that is slightly wider on the left and right sides toward the lower end 40b (see FIG. 6). The upper end 40a of head protection portion 40, over the entire left and right area, is connected to the upper end 27a of main body inflatable portion 27. Head protection portion 40 is formed by joining the outer peripheries of a front wall portion 41 on the main body inflatable portion 27 side and a rear wall portion 42 located on the rear side and having approximately the same outer shape as front wall portion 41, to each other.

[0021] The head protection part 40 has a front side connected to the rear side of the main body inflatable part 27 at the time of completion of inflation by a seam part 45 formed to join the front wall part 41 to the occupant side wall part 35 of the main body inflatable part 27, and has a left edge 40c side and a right edge 40d side connected to the main body inflatable part 27 by tethers 47L, 47R at the time of completion of inflation. That is, the head protection part 40 maintains the folded-back state with respect to the main body inflatable part 27 by the seam part 45 and the tethers 47L, 47R, using the seam part 45 and the tethers 47L, 47R as folded-back state maintaining means. The seam part 45 is formed by directly joining (sewn) the front wall part 41 and the occupant side wall part 35 as shown in Fig. 5, and is formed in a substantially elliptical shape with the left and right sides wider, at a position lower than the center from top to bottom of the head protection part 40 (see Fig. 6). The tethers 47L, 47R are strip-shaped flexible sheets separate from the bag body 26, and are arranged substantially along the front-rear direction when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, with the lower ends of the left edge 40c and the right edge 40d of the head protection part 40 connected to the left edge 27d and the right edge 27e of the main body inflatable part 27 (see Figs. 5 and 6). In this embodiment, the seam part 45 and the tethers 47L, 47R are arranged such that their positions in the up-down direction are substantially aligned, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6.

[0022] In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, the rear surface 42a of the rear wall portion 42 of the head protection portion 40 constitutes a head restraining surface 51 capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP. In addition, in the occupant-side wall portion 35 of the main body inflating portion 27, the rear surface 35a of the lower region of the head protection portion 40 constitutes a chest restraining surface 50 capable of restraining the chest MB of the occupant MP when inflation is complete. In a state before the occupant is received when inflation is complete of the bag body 26, the rear wall portion 42 (head restraining surface 51) of the head protection portion 40 and the occupant-side wall portion 35 (chest restraining surface 50) of the main body inflating portion 27 are disposed so as to be substantially aligned in the up-down direction (see FIG. 9). In the case of the embodiment, the chest restraining surface 50 restrains the occupant MP from the abdomen MA to the chest MB. 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 53 that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag body 26 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP when fully inflated. In detail, the supported surface 53 is constituted by an area of ​​the lower wall portion 30 that is forward of the conduit portion 55. The lower wall portion 30 is disposed with a slight forward inclination in a state before receiving the occupant when the bag body 26 is fully inflated (see FIG. 9). 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 when fully inflated (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 FIGS. 4 and 5).

[0023] 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 Figs. 4, 8, and 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.

[0024] 7, the airbag 25 of this embodiment is formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, is composed of a bag body panel 60 which constitutes the bag body 26, conduit portion panels 75, 76 which constitute the conduit portion 55, and an attachment portion panel 78 which constitutes the attachment portion 57. The bag body panel 60, conduit portion panels 75, 76, and attachment portion panel 78 are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

[0025] The bag body panel 60 includes an occupant-side panel 61 and a front panel 70. The occupant-side panel 61 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and includes a main body component 62 that mainly constitutes the portion of the main body inflatable portion 27 from the occupant-side wall portion 35 to the lower wall portion 30, and a protruding portion component 66 that constitutes the front wall portion 41 of the head protection portion 40 (rear protruding portion). Specifically, the main body component 62 includes an upper portion 63 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35, and a lower portion 64 that mainly constitutes the lower wall portion 30, and has an outer shape in which the upper portion 63 and the lower portion 64 are connected at a portion that constitutes the rear lower end 27c side of the main body inflatable portion 27. The upper portion 63 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 64 constitutes the lower wall portion 30 and the lower regions of the left wall portion 31 and the right wall portion 32. The protrusion constituent portion 66 is formed so as to extend upward from the upper edge side of the upper portion 63, and has a generally trapezoidal outer shape with a wider edge side away from the upper portion 63. The front panel 70 includes a main body constituent portion 71 which mainly constitutes the region of the front wall portion 29 in the main body inflatable portion 27, and a protrusion constituent portion 73 which constitutes the rear wall portion 42 in the head protecting portion 40 (rear protrusion portion). Specifically, the main body constituent part 71 in the front panel 70 constitutes the front wall part 29 and the front regions of the left wall part 31 and the right wall part 32, and is configured so that its outer shape when developed flat substantially matches that of the lower part 64 and the upper part 63 in an open state in which the remaining edges (the protruding part constituent part 66 side, the front edge 64c) of the lower left edge 63a and the rear left edge 64a, and the lower right edge 63b and the rear right edge 64b, which are located on the left and right of the connecting part 62a connecting the upper part 63 and the lower part 64 in the main body constituent part 62 of the occupant side panel 61, are separated from each other. The protruding part constituent part 73 is formed so as to extend upward from the upper edge side of the main body constituent part 71, and its outer shape is substantially the same trapezoidal shape as that of the protruding part constituent part 66 in the occupant side panel 61. The passenger side panel 61 and the front side panel 70 are each symmetrical.The bag body 26 is formed into a bag-like shape that connects the main body expanding portion 27 to the head protecting portion 40 (rear protruding portion) by connecting the outer peripheral edge 71a of the main body constituent portion 71 in the front panel 70 to the left edge 63c, right edge 63d, and front edge 64c of the main body constituent portion 62 of the occupant side panel 61 in a state in which the lower left edge 63a, rear left edge 64a, and the lower right edge 63b, rear right edge 64b are connected to each other as described above, and by connecting the outer peripheral edges 66a, 73a of the protrusion constituent portion 66 of the occupant side panel 61 and the protrusion constituent portion 73 of the front panel 70.

[0026] The two conduit panels 75, 76 have the same outer shape and respectively constitute the upper and lower regions of the conduit 55. The attachment panel 78 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.

[0027] 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.

[0028] In the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the head protection section 40 as a rear protruding section arranged to protrude rearward from the main body inflatable section 27 in the airbag 25 at the time of full inflation is folded back with respect to the main body inflatable section 27 and arranged on the rear side of the main body inflatable section 27, and the head protection section 40 is connected to the main body inflatable section 27 at the folded back section 43. Therefore, when the head protection section 40 receives the head MH of the passenger MP, the inflation gas flowing into the head protection section 40 is prevented from flowing out to the main body inflatable section 27 to some extent. In addition, when the head protection section 40 receives the head MH of the passenger MP, deformation of the head protection section 40 that would increase the width dimension in the direction along the folded back section 43 (left and right direction) is also prevented. Therefore, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the head protection section 40 can maintain a high internal pressure and appropriately restrain the head MH of the passenger MP by the head protection section 40 in a state in which large deformation is prevented.

[0029] Therefore, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the passenger MP can be appropriately received by the airbag 25 when the inflation is completed.

[0030] Furthermore, in the embodiment of the occupant protection device S, the head protection section 40 is formed by joining the peripheral edges of the front wall section 41 on the main body inflation section 27 side and the rear wall section 42 located at the rear side to form a peripheral wall extending from the folded-back portion 43, so that the folded-back portion 43 is approximately straight (in the embodiment, approximately straight along the left-right direction), which further prevents the inflation gas flowing into the head protection section 40 from flowing out toward the main body inflation section 27 when the head protection section 40 supports an occupant.

[0031] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the airbag 25 is configured to include a head protecting portion 40 that is disposed as a rear protrusion on the upper end 27a side of the main body inflating portion 27 at a position in front of the head MH of the occupant MP and is capable of restraining the head MH. In the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the rear surface 42a of the rear wall portion 42 of the head protecting portion 40 is configured as a head restraining surface 51 capable of restraining the head MH, and the rear surface of the lower region of the head protecting portion 40 on the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflating portion 27 is configured as a chest restraining surface 50 capable of restraining the chest MB of the occupant MP (specifically, from the chest MB to the abdomen MA). That is, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, in the fully inflated state, the head restraining surface 51 that receives the head MH is configured to be located rearward (on the occupant MP side) of the chest restraining surface 50 that receives the chest MB. 9 and 10, when the fully inflated airbag 25 receives the occupant MP, the head MH of the occupant MP can first be received by the head restraining surface 51, and the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the thorax MB. As a result, the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from pressing the thorax MB, and the head MH can be quickly restrained by the head restraining surface 51 disposed nearby.

[0032] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the main body inflatable portion 27 of the airbag 25 is configured to have a supported surface 53 constituted by the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30 on the lower surface side when inflation is complete, and this supported surface 53 is a portion that comes into contact with and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the upper body MU of the occupant MP is received by the bag main body 26 when inflation is complete. In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the intersection angle α between the occupant side wall portion 35 (chest restraining surface 50) and the lower wall portion 30 (supported surface 53) is set within a range of 90° to 150° (approximately 120° in the case of the embodiment) when the main body inflatable portion 27 is inflated alone. 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 to bring the head restraining surface 51 closer to the head MH of the occupant MP, and the head MH of the occupant MP can be restrained more quickly by the head restraining surface 51. Also, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the chest restraining surface 50 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 51 can be protected quickly while being prevented from being pressed more than necessary by the chest restraining surface 50. Furthermore, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the actual distance between the occupant side wall portion 35 and the supported surface 53 (lower wall portion 30) 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 occupant side wall portion 35 with the supported surface 53 supported by the thigh portion MT, when the upper body MU of the occupant MP presses the occupant side wall portion 35 toward the supported surface 53 (lower wall portion 30) while compressing the main body expansion portion 27, the reaction force received from the thigh portion MT can be increased, thereby improving the restraint performance of the occupant MP.

[0033] In the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the head protection portion 40 as a rear protrusion is formed so as to continue from the upper edge side of the main body inflatable portion 27, but if the head protection portion is configured to be disposed over the entire left and right area at the upper end side of the main body inflatable portion, the head protection portion may be formed so as to continue from the left edge side or the right edge side of the main body inflatable portion.

[0034] Next, an airbag 85 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in Figures 11 and 12, the airbag 85 includes a bag body 86, a conduit portion 55A connected to an inflator for allowing inflation gas to flow into the bag body 86, and an attachment portion 57A for connecting the bag body 81 to the lap belt 10. In the airbag 85, the components other than the bag body 86 (i.e., the conduit portion 55A and the attachment portion 57A) are the same as the conduit portion 55 and the attachment portion 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.

[0035] In the present embodiment, the bag body 86 includes a main body inflatable portion 27A and shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R as rear protrusions disposed to protrude rearward from the main body inflatable portion 27A. The main body inflatable portion 27A has a width dimension slightly smaller in the vertical direction than the main body inflatable portion 27 described above, and is configured so that the shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R are connected from the vicinity of both the left and right ends on the upper edge side. Other than this, the main body inflatable portion 27A has substantially the same configuration as the main body inflatable portion 27 in the airbag 25 described above. Therefore, the same reference numerals are suffixed with "A" and detailed description will be omitted.

[0036] The shoulder restraints 88L, 88R as rear protrusions have the same outer shape and are arranged to protrude rearward from the main body inflatable portion 27A near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27A when the airbag 85 is fully inflated. They are each formed to be continuous with the upper edge side of the main body inflatable portion 27A and are arranged on the rear side of the main body inflatable portion 27A so as to be folded back with respect to the main body inflatable portion 27A. The shoulder restraints 88L, 88R are connected to the main body inflatable portion 27A at fold-back portions 91L, 91R on the upper end 88a side. The shoulder restraints 88L, 88R are connected (sewn) at the lower end 88b side to the occupant side wall portion 35A of the main body inflatable portion 27A at a joining portion 93, thereby maintaining the folded back state with respect to the main body inflatable portion 27A (protruding rearward from the main body inflatable portion 27A) (see FIG. 12). That is, the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R are maintained in a folded-back state relative to the main inflatable portion 27A by the connecting portion 93, which serves as a folded-back state maintaining means. Each of the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R is disposed in front of the left and right shoulders MS of the occupant MP when the airbag 85 is fully inflated, and is capable of restraining the left and right shoulders MS. The width dimension in the vertical direction when the airbag 85 is fully inflated is approximately half the width dimension in the vertical direction of the rear end region of the main inflatable portion 27A, and the fully inflated shape is generally rectangular and wide in the vertical direction (see Figs. 14 and 15). The upper end 88a of each of the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R is connected to the upper end 27a of the main inflatable portion 27A over the entire left and right area. In this embodiment, each shoulder restraint portion 88L, 88R is formed by connecting the outer peripheral edges of a peripheral wall extending from the folded-back portion 91L, 91R to a front wall portion 89L, 89R on the main body expansion portion 27A side and a rear wall portion 90L, 90R arranged on the rear side and having approximately the same external shape as the front wall portion 89L, 89R.

[0037] In this bag body 86, the rear surfaces 90a of the rear wall portions 90L, 90R of the shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R form shoulder restraining surfaces 92L, 92R that restrain the left and right shoulders MS of the occupant MP. In addition, in the occupant-side wall portion 35A of the main body inflating portion 27A, the area extending from the area between the shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R to below the shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R forms the chest restraining surface 50A. Furthermore, in this bag body 86 as well, the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30A of the main body inflating portion 27A forms the supported surface 53A that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag body 86 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP upon completion of inflation (see FIGS. 11 and 12).

[0038] This airbag 85 is also formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 13, it is composed of a bag body panel 95 that constitutes the bag body 86, conduit section panels 75A, 76A that constitute the conduit section 55A, and an attachment section panel 78A that constitutes the attachment section 57A.

[0039] The bag body panel 95 includes an occupant-side panel 96 and a front panel 100. The occupant-side panel 96 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and includes a main body component 62A that mainly constitutes the portion of the main body inflation portion 27A from the occupant-side wall portion 35A to the lower wall portion 30A, and protruding portion components 97L, 97R that constitute the front wall portions 89L, 89R of the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R (rear protruding portions). The main body component 62A has substantially the same shape as the main body component 62 that constitutes the airbag 25 described above, and the same reference numerals are given the suffix "A" and detailed description is omitted. The protruding portion components 97L, 97R are formed so as to extend upward from the upper edge 63e side of the upper portion 63A, and have an outer shape that is substantially rectangular and wide in the vertical direction. The front panel 100 includes a main body component 71A that mainly constitutes the area of ​​the front wall 29A in the main body inflating portion 27A, and protruding portion components 101L, 101R that constitute the rear wall portions 90L, 90R in the shoulder restraining portions 88L, 88R (rear protruding portions). The main body component 71A has substantially the same shape as the main body component 71 that constitutes the airbag 25 described above. The protruding portion components 101L, 101R are formed so as to extend upward from the upper edge 71aa side of the main body component 71A, and have an outer shape that is substantially the same as the rectangular shape of the protruding portion components 97L, 97R in the occupant side panel 96. The occupant side panel 96 and the front panel 100 are each symmetrical in the left-right direction. The bag body 86 is formed into a bag-like shape that connects the main body inflation portion 27A to the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R (rear protrusions) by connecting the outer peripheral edge 71a of the main body constituent portion 71A of the front panel 100 to the left edge 63c, right edge 63d, upper edge 63e, and front edge 64c of the main body constituent portion 62A of the occupant side panel 96 with the lower left edge 63a, rear left edge 64a, and the lower right edge 63b, rear right edge 64b, respectively, and by connecting the outer peripheral edges 97a, 101a of the protrusion constituent portions 97L, 97R of the occupant side panel 96 and the protrusion constituent portions 101L, 101R of the front panel 100.

[0040] In the passenger protection device using the airbag 85 of such a configuration, the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R as rear protruding parts arranged to protrude rearward from the main inflatable portion 27A are folded back with respect to the main inflatable portion 27A and arranged on the rear side of the main inflatable portion 27A in the airbag 85 when it is fully inflated, and the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R are connected to the main inflatable portion 27A at the folded back portions 91L, 91R. Therefore, when the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R receive the shoulder MS of the occupant MP, the inflation gas flowing into the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R is prevented from flowing out to the main inflatable portion 27A to some extent. In addition, when the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R receive the shoulder MS of the occupant MP, deformation of the shoulder restraints 88L, 88R that would increase the width dimension in the direction along the folded back portions 91L, 91R (left and right direction) is also prevented. Therefore, even in an occupant protection device using an airbag 85, a high internal pressure can be maintained and the shoulders MS of the occupant MP can be appropriately restrained by the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R which are in a state in which large deformation is suppressed.

[0041] Furthermore, in the airbag 85 configured as described above, the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R are formed by joining the peripheral edges of the front wall portion 89L, 89R on the main inflation portion 27A side and the rear wall portion 90L, 90R located on the rear side to each other, so that the folded-back portions 91L, 91R are approximately straight (in the case of this embodiment, approximately straight along the left-right direction), which further prevents the inflation gas flowing into the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R from flowing out toward the main inflation portion 27A side when the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R support an occupant.

[0042] Furthermore, the airbag 85 configured as described above does not include a head protection section, but does include shoulder restraint sections 88L, 88R that protrude rearward from the main body inflatable section 27A and protect the left and right shoulders MS of the occupant MP. Therefore, when the airbag 25 that has completed inflation receives the occupant MP, the shoulder restraint surfaces 92L, 92R formed by the rear surfaces 90a of the rear wall sections 90L, 90R of the shoulder restraint sections 88L, 88R first receive the left and right shoulders MS of the occupant MP, thereby preventing the inflated airbag 85 from immediately coming into contact with the thorax MB and preventing the inflated airbag 85 from pressing against the thorax MB.

[0043] In the airbag 85, the shoulder restraint portions 88L, 88R are arranged so as to be continuous from the upper edge side of the main body inflatable portion 27A, but when the shoulder restraint portions are arranged as rear protrusions, the shoulder restraint portions 88BL, 88BR may be formed so as to be continuous from the left and right edge sides of the main body inflatable portion 27B, respectively, and be folded back and arranged relative to the main body inflatable portion 27B, as in the airbag 85B shown in Fig. 16. In such a configuration, the folded back portions 91BL, 91BR are arranged so as to be approximately aligned in the up-down direction on the outer edge sides in the left-right direction of each shoulder restraint portion 88BL, 88BR.

[0044] 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, 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 airbag is held by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7, 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 can be inflated while the seat belt 7 keeps the passenger MP seated on the seat 1 in a stable manner, and the airbag and the seat belt can stably protect the passenger MP.

[0045] 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. 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]

[0046] 1...seat, 7...seat belt, 10...lap belt (retaining body), 17...inflator, 25, 85, 85B...airbag, 27, 27A, 27B, 27C...main body expansion portion, 40...head protection portion (rear protruding portion), 88L, 88R, 88BL, 88BR...shoulder restraint portion (rear protruding portion), 43, 91L, 91R, 91Bl, 91BR...folded-up portion, MP...occupant, MH...head, MB...chest, 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 include a main inflatable portion that covers the front of the occupant when the airbag is fully inflated, and a rear protruding portion that allows inflation gas to flow into the airbag through the main inflatable portion and is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the main inflatable portion, The rear protrusion, The expansion joint is formed so as to be continuous with the outer peripheral edge of the main body expansion part, and is arranged on the rear side of the main body expansion part so as to be folded back with respect to the main body expansion part, and is connected to the main body expansion part at the folded back part, An occupant protection device, characterized in that a peripheral wall extending from the folded-back portion is formed by joining the outer peripheral edges of a front wall portion on the side of the main body inflation portion and a rear wall portion disposed on the rear side.

2. 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, wherein the rear projection is formed so as to be continuous with an upper edge side of the main inflatable portion.

3. 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, wherein the rear projection is formed so as to be continuous with a left edge side and / or a right edge side of the main body expansion portion.

4. 4. The occupant protection device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the rear protrusion is positioned in a position forward of the occupant's head when the airbag is fully inflated, thereby forming a head protection portion capable of restraining the head.

5. 4. The occupant protection device according to claim 2 or 3, characterized in that the rear protrusion is positioned in a position forward of the left and right shoulders of the occupant when the airbag is fully inflated, thereby forming a shoulder restraint portion capable of restraining the shoulders.

6. 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 include a main inflatable portion that covers the front of the occupant when the airbag is fully inflated, and a rear protruding portion that allows inflation gas to flow into the airbag through the main inflatable portion and is disposed so as to protrude rearward from the main inflatable portion, An occupant protection device characterized in that the rear protrusion is formed to extend from the left edge side and / or right edge side of the main body expansion portion, and is positioned to the rear of the main body expansion portion by being folded back onto the main body expansion portion, and is connected to the main body expansion portion at the folded back portion.

7. The occupant protection device according to claim 6, characterized in that the rear protrusion is positioned in a position forward of the head of the occupant when the airbag is fully inflated, thereby forming a head protection portion capable of restraining the head.

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