Airbag device

Abstract

To provide an airbag device which reduces collision damage during a lateral collision.SOLUTION: An airbag device is provided at a vehicle 1 having: doors 30 each of which is provided at a door opening provided at a vehicle body side surface part in an openable and closable manner; and side sills 50 each of which is disposed along a lower edge part of the door. The airbag device includes: an airbag 100 which is deployed from a storage part 51 provided at the lower side of the door at a vehicle body to an area located at an outer side as seen in a vehicle width direction of the door; and an input state detection part 214 which detects a state of a load input from the airbag to the vehicle body. The airbag has: a first air chamber 110 which transmits the input from the outer side in the vehicle width direction to a side surface part of the side sill; a second air chamber 120 which is provided connecting a lower part of the first air chamber to the storage part; and inner pressure control units 210, 212 which control an inner pressure of the second air chamber according to the load input state detected by the input state detection part.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to an airbag device provided with an airbag that deploys to the outside of the vehicle during a side collision of the vehicle.

Background Art

[0002] In vehicles such as automobiles, in order to reduce damage to the vehicle body and occupants during a collision, it has been proposed to use an airbag device having an airbag that deploys outside the vehicle. As a technology related to coping with a side collision of a vehicle, for example, in Patent Document 1, when a collision from the side of the vehicle is detected, an internal airbag that deploys in a curtain shape along the side window inside the vehicle and an external airbag that deploys along the side window outside the vehicle are provided. An occupant protection device is described. It is described that the internal airbag and the external airbag are finally deployed so as to overlap the side of the vehicle. In Patent Document 2, in an occupant protection system including an external airbag system and a predictive collision detection system, in order to protect the occupant in response to a collision, from inside the door close to the seating position of the occupant to the outside in the vehicle width direction, It is described that an airbag having a plurality of air chambers arranged in the front-rear direction is deployed. In Patent Document 3, in order to mitigate damage to the vehicle during a collision, an airbag that operates sequentially, and a plurality of airbags having an inflation unit are arranged in a plurality in the horizontal direction on the side surface portion of the vehicle body and the like. It is described.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Patent Document 2

Patent Document 3

Summary of the Invention

Problems to be Solved by the Invention

[0004] In a side collision where an object such as another vehicle collides from the side of the vehicle, there is a concern that in a frontal collision, the crush stroke capable of absorbing energy due to damage to the vehicle body structure is short, and the amount of energy absorption is insufficient. Furthermore, in a side collision, there is a concern that the deformation speed of the door during the collision becomes faster than the moving speed of the vehicle body, and secondary collision damage may occur to the occupant. On the other hand, as in the above-described conventional technology, it has been proposed to provide an outside airbag device that deploys outward from the side portion of the vehicle body. However, when the load from the collided object is input to the door via the airbag, ultimately, it is not possible to sufficiently suppress the deformation of the door, and it is required to more effectively suppress the intrusion of the door into the passenger compartment. In view of the above-described problems, an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device that suppresses collision damage during a side collision.

Means for Solving the Problems

[0005] To solve the above-described problems, the airbag device of the present invention is an airbag device provided in a vehicle having a door that is openably and closably provided in a door opening provided in a side portion of the vehicle body, and a side sill disposed along a lower edge portion of the door, and includes an airbag that deploys from a housing portion provided below the door in the vehicle body to a region outside the vehicle width direction of the door, and an input state detection unit that detects a load input state from the airbag to the vehicle body. The airbag has a first air chamber that transmits a load input from the outside in the vehicle width direction to a side surface portion of the side sill, a second air chamber provided by connecting a lower portion of the first air chamber and the housing portion, and an internal pressure control unit that controls an internal pressure of the second air chamber according to the load input state detected by the input state detection unit. According to this, when a side collision of the vehicle occurs, the load input from the outside in the vehicle width direction is transmitted by the first air chamber of the airbag to the side surface portion of the side sill, thereby suppressing the deformation of the door intruding into the passenger compartment and suppressing the harmfulness to the occupant. Further, by controlling the internal pressure of the second air chamber that connects the first air chamber and the storage portion provided in the lower part of the vehicle body according to the load input state from the airbag to the vehicle body, the airbag wraps around the side sill, and the first air chamber can reliably transmit the load to the side sill. Thus, the behavior of the airbag can be controlled, and the above-described effects can be obtained more effectively.

[0006] In the present invention, the airbag may be configured to have a third air chamber that projects upward from the upper part of the first air chamber and contracts in response to a load input from the outside in the vehicle width direction. According to this, the collision energy input above the first air chamber at the time of collision with an object can be absorbed by the contraction of the third air chamber, and deformation of the door above the first air chamber can be suppressed.

[0007] In the present invention, the input state detection unit may include a deformation amount detection unit that detects the deformation amount of the door, and the internal pressure control unit may be configured to decrease the internal pressure of the second air chamber in response to an increase in the deformation amount. According to this, when the load transmission from the first air chamber to the door is started and the deformation amount of the door increases, by decreasing the internal pressure of the second air chamber, the first air chamber transmits the load obliquely downward to the side sill, promoting the deformation of the airbag to wrap around the side sill, promoting the load transmission to the side sill, and suppressing the deformation amount of the door.

[0008] In the present invention, the input state detection unit may include an input direction detection unit that detects the load input direction from the first air chamber to the door, and the internal pressure control unit may be configured to decrease the internal pressure of the second air chamber in response to an increase in the downward component of the load. According to this, in response to the start of the load transmission from the first air chamber to the side sill disposed below the door, by decreasing the internal pressure of the second air chamber, the first air chamber transmits the load obliquely downward to the side sill, promoting the deformation of the airbag to wrap around the side sill, promoting the load transmission to the side sill, and suppressing the deformation amount of the door.

[0009] In the present invention, the internal pressure control unit can be configured to include a buffer air chamber that expands while being adjacent to the second air chamber and sandwiched between the side sill and the road surface, and a communication control unit that controls the communication state between the buffer air chamber and the second air chamber. According to this, even when a load having a downward component is applied to the first air chamber, the second air chamber, etc. of the airbag during a collision with an object, the buffer air chamber can utilize the reaction force from the road surface to suppress the downward displacement of the first air chamber, etc., and can make the load transmission to the side sill, etc. more stable. Also, by controlling the communication state between the second air chamber and the buffer air chamber by the communication control unit, the internal pressure of the second air chamber can be controlled with a simple configuration.

Effect of the Invention

[0010] As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide an airbag device that suppresses collision damage during a side collision.

Brief Description of the Drawings

[0011]

Figure 1

Figure 2

Figure 3

Figure 4

Figure 5

Figure 6

Figure 7

Embodiments for Carrying Out the Invention

[0012] <First Embodiment> Hereinafter, a first embodiment of an airbag device to which the present invention is applied will be described. The airbag device of the first embodiment relates to an automobile such as a passenger car having a door for passengers to get on and off on the side surface portion of a passenger compartment in which passengers are accommodated.

[0013] FIG. 1 is a side view of a vehicle having an airbag device according to the first embodiment. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line II-II of FIG. 1. In the first embodiment, the vehicle 1 is an automobile such as a passenger car having a so-called two-box vehicle shape having a power unit compartment 20 protruding forward of the passenger compartment 10.

[0014] The passenger compartment 10 is a portion having a space for accommodating passengers and the like, and is configured by arranging, for example, two rows of seats (front seats and rear seats) in the front-rear direction. On the side surface portion of the passenger compartment 10, a front side door 30, a rear side door 40, a side sill 50, an A pillar 60, a B pillar 70, a C pillar 80, a door beam 90, etc. are provided.

[0015] The front side door 30 is a door body used for getting on and off the front seat passengers, and is provided to be openable and closable in a door opening provided on the side of the front seat S at the front of the passenger compartment 10. The front end portion of the front side door 30 is swingably attached to the rear portion of the A pillar 60 via a hinge (not shown). The rear end portion of the front side door 30 is detachably attached to the front portion of the B pillar 70 via a door catcher (not shown).

[0016] As shown in FIG. 2, the front side door 30 includes an outer panel 31, an inner panel 32, a door trim 33, etc. The outer panel 31 and the inner panel 32 are members formed by pressing a steel plate into a panel shape, for example. The outer panel 31 is a member that constitutes a part of the outer surface (design surface) of the vehicle 1. The inner panel 32 is disposed on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the outer panel 31. The outer panel 31 and the inner panel 32 are joined at their outer peripheral edges, and in the central portion of the front side door 30, they are disposed opposite to each other with a space therebetween in the vehicle width direction. The inner panel 32 is formed into a frame shape having higher strength and bending rigidity with respect to the outer panel 31 by using a steel plate having a larger plate thickness than the outer panel 31. The door trim 33 is an interior member exposed inside the passenger compartment 10. The door trim 33 is attached to the surface on the inner side in the vehicle width direction of the inner panel 32. The door trim 33 is formed of a resin-based material such as PP, for example.

[0017] The rear side door 40 is a door body used for the rear seat passengers to get on and off, and is provided so as to be openable and closable in a door opening provided on the side of a rear seat not shown at the rear of the passenger compartment 10. The front edge portion of the rear side door 40 is disposed adjacent to the rear edge portion of the front side door 30 with an inevitably provided interval (gap) therebetween in a state where each door is closed. The front end portion of the rear side door 40 is swingably attached to the rear portion of the B pillar 70 via a hinge not shown. The rear end portion of the rear side door 40 is detachably attached to the front portion of the C pillar 80 via a door catcher not shown.

[0018] The side sill 50 is a vehicle body structural member formed to extend in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle along the lower edge portions of the front side door 30 and the rear side door 40. The side sill 50 is arranged along both ends of a floor panel (not shown) that constitutes the floor surface portion of the passenger compartment 10. The front end portion of the side sill 50 is arranged adjacent to the rear portion of the front wheel house that houses the front wheel FW. The rear end portion of the side sill 50 is arranged adjacent to the front portion of the rear wheel house that houses the rear wheel RW. A retainer 51, which is a housing portion that houses the airbag 100 before deployment and the inflator 211, is provided below the side sill 50.

[0019] The A-pillar 60 is a vehicle body structure member (front pillar) formed to project upward from the vicinity of the front end portion of the side sill 50. The lower portion of the A-pillar 60 is arranged along the front end portion of the front side door 30. A hinge (not shown) that supports the front side door 30 so as to be swingable about an axis along the vertical direction is provided at the lower portion of the A-pillar 60. The upper portion of the A-pillar 60 is exposed so as to form a part of the outer surface of the vehicle body and is arranged to incline rearward along the side edge portion of the front glass 11.

[0020] The B-pillar 70 is a vehicle body structure member (center pillar) formed to project upward from the intermediate portion in the front-rear direction of the side sill 50. The rear edge portion of the front side door 30 is arranged along the front portion of the B-pillar 70. The rear end portion of the front side door 30 is detachably attached to the B-pillar 70 via a door catch mechanism (not shown). The front edge portion of the rear side door 40 is arranged along the rear portion of the B-pillar 70. A hinge (not shown) that supports the rear side door 40 so as to be swingable about an axis along the vertical direction is provided at the rear portion of the B-pillar 70.

[0021] The C-pillar 80 is a vehicle body structure member (rear pillar) formed to project upward from the vicinity of the rear end portion of the side sill 50. The trailing edge of the rear side door 40 is arranged along the front part of the C pillar 80. The rear end of the rear side door 40 is detachably attached to the C pillar 80 via a door catch mechanism (not shown).

[0022] The side sill 50, A pillar 60, B pillar 70, and C pillar 80 are configured such that, for example, panels formed by press-molding steel plates or the like are assembled and joined by spot welding, laser welding, structural adhesives, etc., so that the cross-section along a plane orthogonal to the longitudinal direction is a closed cross-section.

[0023] The door beam 90 is provided inside the front side door 30 and is a member arranged across the front part and the rear part of the front side door 30. The door beam 90 is constituted by, for example, a circular tubular pipe formed of steel material or the like. The front end portion 91 and the rear end portion 92 of the door beam 90 are attached to the door inner panel 32 in the vicinity of the front end portion and the rear end portion of the front side door 30. The door beam 90 is arranged inclined with respect to the horizontal direction such that the front end portion 91 is at a higher position than the rear end portion 92.

[0024] The vehicle 1 is provided with an airbag 100 that expands into the region outside the vehicle width direction of the front side door 30 and the rear side door 40 in response to a pre-crash determination (precursor of a side collision). The airbag 100 is formed as a bag-like body by joining a plurality of base fabric panels made of, for example, nylon fibers by stitching, fusion, etc. The airbag 100 expands by introducing inflation gas from an inflator 211 described later. The airbag 100 is housed in a folded state in a retainer 51 provided at the lower part of the side sill 50 during normal use of the vehicle (before pre-crash determination is established and before deployment). The retainer 51 functions as a vehicle body side attachment location of the airbag 100 after the airbag 100 is deployed.

[0025] As shown in FIG. 2 and the like, the airbag 100 includes a first air chamber 110, a second air chamber 120, and a third air chamber 130. The first air chamber 110 is deployed outside the vehicle width direction of the outer panel 31 and the side sill 50. The first air chamber 110 mainly has a function of transmitting the load received from an object colliding with the side to the door beam 90 and the front side door 30.

[0026] As shown in FIG. 2, the vertical distance L1 from the fixing point P1 between the airbag 100 (second air chamber 120) and the side sill 50 to the position P2 where the side portion of the side sill 50 protrudes most outward in the vehicle width direction is set to be equal to the vertical distance L2 from the position P2 to the upper end portion P3 of the first air chamber 110.

[0027] The second air chamber 120 is provided between the lower part of the first air chamber 110 and the retainer 51 of the side sill 50, and is a part that constitutes the lower part of the airbag 100. The second air chamber 120 serves as a base to which the airbag 100 is attached to the vehicle body. The second air chamber 120 has a function of connecting the first air chamber 110 and the side sill 50 and controlling the behavior of the first air chamber 110. The control of the behavior of the first air chamber 110 by the second air chamber 120 will be described in detail later.

[0028] The third air chamber 130 is a part that protrudes further upward from the upper part of the first air chamber 110 and is deployed. A vent hole (vent flow path) (not shown) is provided in the third air chamber 130. When the third air chamber 130 receives a load due to a collision with an object (such as another vehicle), it contracts while discharging the deployment gas to the outside through the vent hole, and has a function of absorbing the energy due to the collision. As shown in FIG. 1, in a side view of the vehicle, the upper end portion of the third air chamber 130 is arranged to be above the upper end portion of the door beam 90 in a region from the front end portion to the rear end portion of the seat surface of the seat S in the vehicle front-rear direction. Note that such a positional relationship preferably holds throughout the entire front-rear slide range of the seat S. The third air chamber 130 functions as an energy absorption (EA) airbag that generates an evenly distributed load on the contact surface with the outer panel 31 of the front side door 30 in response to an input.

[0029] As shown in FIG. 1, the position of the front end portion of the airbag 100 is arranged to protrude forward of the vehicle with respect to the front end portion of the front side door 30. Also, the position of the rear end portion of the airbag 100 is arranged to protrude rearward of the vehicle with respect to the rear end portion of the rear side door 40.

[0030] FIG. 3 is a diagram showing the configuration of a control system of an airbag in the airbag device according to the first embodiment. The control system 200 includes an airbag control unit 210, an environment recognition unit 220, and the like. The airbag control unit 210 and the environment recognition unit 220 can be configured as a microcomputer having an information processing unit such as a CPU, a storage unit such as a RAM and a ROM, an input / output interface, and a bus connecting these. The airbag control unit 210 and the environment recognition unit 220 are communicably connected via an in-vehicle LAN such as a CAN communication system, or directly.

[0031] The airbag control unit 210 controls the deployment state of the airbag 100. Connected to the airbag control unit 210 are an inflater 211, a pressure regulating valve 212, an internal pressure sensor 213, a door internal pressure sensor 214, a tensile load sensor 215, and the like.

[0032] The inflator 211 is a gas generator that deploys the airbag 100 by supplying inflation gas to the first air chamber 110, the second air chamber 120, and the third air chamber 130 of the airbag 100, respectively. The inflator 211 can be configured to generate inflation gas by reacting chemical agents in response to, for example, a deployment signal. The inflator 211 can be configured to have a plurality of gas generators that independently supply inflation gas to each of the first air chamber 110, the second air chamber 120, and the third air chamber 130 of the airbag 100. Also, if necessary, the inflator 211 may be a multi-stage inflator capable of generating inflation gas multiple times at time intervals.

[0033] The pressure regulating valve 212 is provided in the second air chamber 120 and opens and closes a vent flow path (not shown) that communicates the inside and the outside. The pressure regulating valve 212 has a function of opening the vent flow path in response to an opening valve command from the airbag control unit 210, discharging the inflation gas inside the second air chamber 120 to the outside, and reducing the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120. The pressure regulating valve 212 functions as an internal pressure control unit of the present invention in cooperation with the airbag control unit 210. The pressure regulating valve 212 is in a closed state from the start of deployment of the airbag 100 until just before a collision. The internal pressure sensor 213 is a pressure sensor that detects the pressure (internal pressure) of the inflation gas inside the second air chamber 120.

[0034] The door internal pressure sensor 214 detects the air pressure (pressure inside the door) in the space between the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 32 of the front side door 30. The door internal pressure sensor 214 has a function as an input state detection unit that detects the state of load input from the airbag 100 to the vehicle body by detecting a change in air pressure associated with crushing of the front side door 30 during a side collision. Since the pressure inside the door increases as the amount of deformation of the front side door 30 increases, the door pressure sensor 214 can be used as a deformation amount detection unit that detects the amount of deformation of the front side door 30.

[0035] The tensile load sensor 215 detects the tensile load acting between the second air chamber 120 and the retainer 51. The tensile load sensor 215 can be configured to have a load sensor such as a load cell, for example. When the first air chamber 110 collides with an object and deforms the front side door 30 while being pushed inward in the vehicle width direction, the upper part of the second air chamber 120 is pulled by the lower part of the first air chamber 110, and a tensile load acts on the second air chamber 120. Based on this tensile load, it is possible to detect the load input state from the airbag 100 to the vehicle body. The tensile load sensor 215 also has functions as an input state detection unit and a deformation amount detection unit.

[0036] The environment recognition unit 220 recognizes the surrounding environment including the side of the host vehicle based on the outputs of various sensors. Connected to the environment recognition unit 220 are, for example, a side monitoring camera 221, a millimeter wave radar device 222, a laser scanner device 223, etc. as sensors.

[0037] The side monitoring camera 221 has, for example, a solid-state imaging device such as a CMOS or a CCD, an imaging optical system such as a lens group, an image processing unit, etc., and sequentially acquires images within an imaging range (angle of view) including the side of the host vehicle. The millimeter wave radar device 222 is, for example, a radar device using radio waves in a frequency band of 30 to 300 GHz, and has a function of detecting the presence or absence of an object and the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle 1. The laser scanner device (LIDAR) 223 irradiates, for example, near-infrared laser light in a pulsed manner to scan the periphery of the vehicle 1, and has a function of detecting the presence or absence of an object, the relative position of the object with respect to the vehicle 1, the shape of the object, etc. based on the presence or absence of reflected light and the time difference until the reflected light returns. When it is inevitable to have a side collision with an object such as another vehicle V (when the pre-crash determination is established), the environment recognition unit 220 can recognize the collision form with the object (for example, the speed vector of the object with respect to the vehicle 1, the collision position with respect to the vehicle 1, etc.) and the attributes of the object (for example, when it is a vehicle, the vehicle type, vehicle shape, size, etc.).

[0038] FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing an outline of airbag deployment control in the airbag device according to the first embodiment. Hereinafter, the steps will be described in sequence. <Step S01: Determination of pre-crash determination establishment> Based on the output of each sensor, the environment recognition unit 220 determines whether a collision with an object such as another vehicle V is inevitable on the side surface of the vehicle 1. If it is determined that the collision is inevitable, the pre-crash determination is established, and the process proceeds to step S02. Otherwise, the series of processes is terminated.

[0039] <Step S02: Airbag deployment> The environment recognition unit 220 transmits a signal indicating that the pre-crash determination has been established to the airbag control unit 210. The airbag control unit 210 gives a deployment signal to the inflator 211, and the inflator 211 starts generating the deployment gas. As a result, the airbag 100 is drawn out from the retainer 51 to the outside, starts to deploy, and finally deploys to the shape shown in FIG. 2. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S03.

[0040] <Step S03: Detection of door internal pressure and tensile load> The airbag control unit 210 detects the pressure inside the door and the tensile load of the second air chamber 120 by the door internal pressure sensor 214 and the tensile load sensor 215. Thereafter, the process proceeds to step S04.

[0041] <Step S04: Judgment of increase in door internal pressure, etc.> The airbag control unit 210 determines whether at least one of the pressure inside the door detected in step S03 and the tensile load of the second air chamber 120 has increased to be equal to or greater than a preset threshold value. If at least one of the pressure and the tensile load is equal to or greater than the threshold value, the process proceeds to step S05; otherwise, the process returns to step S03 and the subsequent processing is repeated.

[0042] <Step S05: Reducing the pressure in the second air chamber> The airbag control unit 210 temporarily opens the pressure regulating valve 212 and then returns it to the closed state, thereby discharging a part of the deployment gas from the inside of the second air chamber 120 to the outside, and reducing the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120 to a predetermined post - collision internal pressure that is lower than the internal pressure at the time of deployment. At this time, the airbag control unit 210 performs feedback control on the pressure regulating valve 212 based on the output of the internal pressure sensor 213. Thereafter, a series of processes are accommodated (returned).

[0043] FIG. 5 is a cross - sectional view showing the state after a side collision in a vehicle having the airbag device according to the first embodiment. In FIG. 5, the front side door 30, the airbag 100, etc. after the collision in the first embodiment are shown by solid lines, and the front side door 30, etc. after the collision assumed when the airbag 100 is not provided are shown by broken lines.

[0044] As shown in FIG. 5, in the first embodiment, when there is a side collision with an object such as another vehicle V, the input load F is distributed to the load F1 on the front side door 30 and the load F2 on the side sill 50 and transmitted to the vehicle body. Therefore, the load F1 transmitted to the front side door 30 can be reduced compared to the case where such an airbag 100 is not provided, and the amount of deformation of the front side door 30 and the amount of movement toward the vehicle interior side can be reduced. In particular, it is possible to suppress the lower end portion of the front side door 30 from crossing over the side sill 50 and displacing inward in the vehicle width direction.

[0045] According to the first embodiment described above, the following effects can be obtained. (1) When a side collision of the vehicle 1 occurs, by transmitting the input from the outside in the vehicle width direction to the side portion of the side sill 50 through the first air chamber 110 of the airbag 100, the deformation of the front side door 30 intruding into the passenger compartment 10 can be suppressed, and the harmfulness to the occupant can be suppressed. Further, by controlling the internal pressure of the second air chamber connecting the first air chamber 110 and the side sill 50 according to the load input state from the airbag to the vehicle body, the behavior of the airbag can be controlled so that the first air chamber can surely transmit the load to the side sill, and the above-described effects can be obtained more effectively. (2) The collision energy input above the first air chamber 110 during a collision with an object can be absorbed by the contraction of the third air chamber 130, and the deformation of the front side door 30 above the first air chamber 130 can be suppressed. (3) Based on the output of the door internal pressure sensor 214 that detects the deformation amount of the front side door 30, by reducing the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120, the load transmission from the first air chamber 110 to the front side door 30 is started. When the deformation amount of the front side door 30 increases, the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120 is reduced, and the deformation of the airbag 100 that wraps around the side sill 50 is promoted so that the first air chamber transmits the load obliquely downward to the side sill, and the load transmission to the side sill 50 is promoted to suppress the deformation amount of the front side door 30.

[0046] <Second Embodiment> Next, a second embodiment of the airbag device to which the present invention is applied will be described. In the second embodiment, the same reference numerals are given to the parts common to the first embodiment described above, and the description thereof is omitted, and mainly the differences will be described. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view around the front side door in a vehicle having a second embodiment of the airbag device to which the present invention is applied. As shown in FIG. 6, in the second embodiment, the airbag 100 further has a buffer air chamber 140.

[0047] The buffer air chamber 140 is deployed in a state of being sandwiched between the lower part of the side sill 50 and the road surface G in a region inside the vehicle width direction from the second air chamber 120. A control valve 141 is provided in the buffer air chamber 140. The control valve 141 has a function of switching between an open state in which the buffer air chamber 140 and the second air chamber 120 are communicated with each other and a closed state in which this communication is blocked, in response to a command from the airbag control unit 210. The control valve 141 functions as a communication control unit of the present invention in cooperation with the airbag control unit 210.

[0048] The buffer air chamber 140 is supplied with deployment gas from the inflator 211 in response to the establishment of pre-crash determination, and is deployed simultaneously with the first air chamber 110, the second air chamber 120, and the third air chamber 130. At the time of completion of deployment, the internal pressure of the buffer air chamber 140 is set to be lower than the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120. In the second embodiment, the decompression of the second air chamber 120 after the collision is performed by opening the control valve 141 and moving a part of the deployment gas in the second air chamber 120 to the buffer air chamber 140.

[0049] According to the second embodiment described above, in addition to the effects similar to those of the first embodiment described above, even when a load having a downward component is applied to the first air chamber 110, the second air chamber 120, etc. of the airbag 100 at the time of collision with an object, the buffer air chamber 140 can utilize the reaction force from the road surface G to suppress the downward displacement of the first air chamber 110, etc., and the load transmission to the side sill 50, etc. can be made more stable. Also, by controlling the communication state between the second air chamber 120 and the buffer air chamber 140 by the control valve 141, the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120 can be controlled with a simple configuration.

[0050] <Third Embodiment> Next, a third embodiment of the airbag device to which the present invention is applied will be described. FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the periphery of the front side door in a vehicle having a third embodiment of the airbag device to which the present invention is applied. In the third embodiment, the lower surface portion of the second air chamber 120 is configured to deploy in a state of contacting the road surface G. Also in this third embodiment, the same effects as those of the first and second embodiments described above can be obtained. In addition, the device configuration can be simplified compared to the configuration of the second embodiment.

[0051] <Fourth Embodiment> Next, a fourth embodiment of the airbag device to which the present invention is applied will be described. The airbag device of the fourth embodiment includes an input direction sensor (not shown). The input direction sensor is provided in a space between the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 32 of the front side door 30 and in a region that overlaps with the first air chamber 110 of the airbag 100 when viewed in the vehicle width direction. The input direction sensor has a function of detecting the load input direction from the first air chamber 110 to the front side door 30, particularly the downward component of the load. In the airbag device of the fourth embodiment, after the airbag 100 is deployed, the second air chamber 120 is depressurized in response to an increase in the downward component of the load detected by the input direction sensor. According to the fourth embodiment described above, in response to an increase in the downward component of the load transmitted from the first air chamber 110 or the like to the front side door 30, by depressurizing the second air chamber 120, in response to the start of load transmission from the first air chamber 110 to the side sill 50, by reducing the internal pressure of the second air chamber 120, the behavior of the first air chamber 110 pressing the side sill 50 from obliquely above is not inhibited, and the load transmission from the airbag 100 to the side sill 50 can be further promoted.

[0052] (Modification) The present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, and various modifications and changes are possible, and these are also within the technical scope of the present invention. (1) The configuration of the airbag device and the vehicle is not limited to each of the above-described embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the shape, structure, material, manufacturing method, number, arrangement, etc. of each member constituting these can be changed as appropriate. (2) The configuration of the airbag and the arrangement of the air chambers are not limited to the configurations of the embodiments, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, when energy absorption at the upper part of the door is possible by other means, a configuration in which the third air chamber is omitted may be adopted. Further, in addition to the air chambers described above, other air chambers may be additionally provided. Also, each air chamber may be further divided. (3) The method of detecting the precursor of a collision is not limited to using the sensors of each embodiment, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, other types of sensors can be additionally used or used in place of the sensors of each embodiment. Also, a configuration may be adopted in which the precursor of a collision is detected by vehicle-to-vehicle communication or road-to-vehicle communication. (4) In each embodiment, the housing portion (retainer 51) for housing the airbag 100 before deployment is provided inside the lower part of the side sill 50. However, the location where the housing portion is provided is not limited to this, and can be changed as appropriate. For example, the housing portion may be provided on the lower surface portion of the floor panel or inside a side step, which is an aerodynamic part having design characteristics provided on the side sill. (5) In each embodiment, the effect regarding suppression of deformation of the front side door has been described, but the same effect can also be obtained regarding suppression of deformation of the rear side door. Also, each embodiment describes a vehicle having a front side door and a rear side door as an example, but the present invention can also be applied to a vehicle having only one door on one side of the vehicle body side.

Explanation of Reference Numerals

[0053] 1 Vehicle FW Front Wheel RW Rear Wheel 10 Passenger Compartment 20 Power Unit Compartment 30 Front Side Door 31 Outer Panel 32 Inner Panel 33 Door Trim 34 Reinforcing member 40 Rear side door 50 Side sill 51 Retainer 60 A-pillar 70 B-pillar 80 C-pillar 90 Door beam 91 Front end 92 Rear end 100 Airbag 110 First air chamber 120 Second air chamber 130 Third air chamber 140 Buffer air chamber 141 Control valve 200 Control system 210 Airbag control unit 211 Inflator 212 Pressure regulating valve 213 Internal pressure sensor 214 Door internal pressure sensor 215 Tensile load sensor 220 Environment recognition unit 221 Side monitoring camera 222 Millimeter wave radar device 223 Laser scanner device

Claims

1. A door that is provided to be openable and closable in a door opening provided on a side surface portion of a vehicle body, and a side sill disposed along a lower edge portion of the door An airbag device provided in a vehicle having, an airbag that deploys from a storage portion provided below the door in the vehicle body to a region outside the vehicle width direction of the door, and an input state detection unit that detects a load input state from the airbag to the vehicle body, and is provided with, The airbag is a first air chamber that transmits a load input from the outside in the vehicle width direction to a side surface portion of the side sill, a second air chamber provided by connecting a lower portion of the first air chamber and the storage portion, and an internal pressure control unit that controls an internal pressure of the second air chamber according to the load input state detected by the input state detection unit An airbag device characterized by that.

2. The airbag has a third air chamber that projects upward from an upper portion of the first air chamber and contracts in response to a load input from the outside in the vehicle width direction The airbag device according to claim 1, characterized by that.

3. The input state detection unit has a deformation amount detection unit that detects a deformation amount of the door, and the internal pressure control unit reduces the internal pressure of the second air chamber in response to an increase in the deformation amount The airbag device according to claim 1 or claim 2, characterized by that.

4. The input state detection unit has an input direction detection unit that detects a load input direction from the first air chamber to the door, and the internal pressure control unit reduces the internal pressure of the second air chamber in response to an increase in a downward component in the load The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized by that.

5. The internal pressure control unit is a buffer air chamber that is adjacent to the second air chamber and deployed in a state of being sandwiched between the side sill and the road surface, and a communication control unit that controls a communication state between the buffer air chamber and the second air chamber The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized by that.

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