Safety Airbags

Abstract

The present invention relates to a safety airbag (10) for mounting to the top of a vehicle, the airbag having an inflated state and a stowed state, the airbag including a first airbag (11) and a second airbag (12) configured to be in fluid communication with each other, the first airbag (11) extending in a fore-aft direction beyond the second airbag (12) when the airbags are in the inflated state, the second airbag (12) having a first side flank (121) and a second side flank (122) extending in a fore-aft direction beyond the second airbag (12) when the airbags are in the inflated state, the second airbag (12) having a first side flank (123) and a second side flank (124) extending in a fore-aft direction beyond the second airbag (12) when the airbags are in the inflated state, The present invention relates to a safety airbag (10), characterized in that the safety airbag (10) has a recess formed by a recessed portion (22) and used to accommodate the head of an occupant, and the safety airbag (10) further includes guides (13, 13A, 13B, 13C) provided at a connection position between the first airbag (11) and the second airbag (12), the guides (13, 13A, 13B, 13C) being used to guide a gas flow of one of the first airbag (11) and the second airbag (12) toward the other. The safety airbag has a simple structure and a low manufacturing cost.

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to vehicle safety devices, and more particularly to safety airbags. [Background technology]

[0002] Safety airbags are widely used in existing vehicles as safety devices to protect occupants. Examples of safety airbags include steering wheel-mounted safety airbags, dashboard-mounted safety airbags, and overhead safety airbags located in the upper portion of a vehicle. When a vehicle is hit or crashed, a gas generator in the safety airbag receives a signal transmitted by a wiring harness connected to the gas generator and ignites a propellant. Gas generated by the burning propellant then rapidly inflates a stored air bladder in the safety airbag, which then expands to protect the occupant from injury due to the crash.

[0003] However, statistically, while the probability of two vehicles colliding head-on is low, the probability of the fronts of the vehicles colliding at an angle, i.e., the occurrence of an oblique collision, is high. However, during an oblique collision, the occupant's head and thorax may slip out of the airbag's air pocket. Therefore, the occupant's head and thorax are no longer located within the airbag's protective area and instead hit other structures within the vehicle, thereby being damaged. As a result, prior art safety airbags have difficulty ensuring that the occupant is located within the airbag's protective area during a collision, resulting in low reliability and safety. Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] Therefore, a safety airbag with high reliability and good safety is desired.

[0005] SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The object of the present invention is to provide a safety airbag having high reliability and safety, and the safety airbag of the present invention can achieve the objectives of simple structure and low manufacturing cost.

[0006] The present invention provides a safety airbag mounted in the upper part of a vehicle, comprising: an airbag having an inflated state and a stowed state; The airbag includes a first airbag and a second airbag configured to be in fluid communication with each other, the first airbag extending in a fore-aft direction beyond the second airbag when the airbags are in an inflated state, the second airbag having a recess formed by a first side flank and a second side flank and adapted to accommodate an occupant's head; The safety airbag further comprises a guide provided at a connection position between the first airbag and the second airbag, the guide being used to guide the gas flow of one of the first airbag and the second airbag toward the other.

[0007] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the communication port is provided only in a portion of the opposing surfaces of the first airbag and the second airbag, and the guide is provided in the communication port, and the first airbag and the second airbag are connected only at the communication port, allowing relative displacement between the first airbag and the second airbag in the inflated state.

[0008] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the guide includes a turning portion, through which gas flow is blocked and thus changed direction.

[0009] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the guide further comprises a guiding portion adjacent to the redirecting portion, and the gas is guided by the guiding portion after being redirected by the redirecting portion.

[0010] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the guide is constructed to be formed from a single sheet, the redirecting portion is constructed from a portion of the single sheet, and the guiding portion is constructed to be an opening in the single sheet.

[0011] According to an embodiment of the present invention, a plurality of direction change sections are provided, and a plurality of guide sections are provided, and the direction change sections and the guide sections are arranged alternately.

[0012] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first airbag is constructed to be flat in the inflated state.

[0013] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first side flank and the second side flank are formed by the same piece of fabric.

[0014] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the first side flank includes a first inner surface for forming a recess, the second side flank includes a second inner surface for forming a recess, and the first inner surface and the second inner surface are adjacent to each other.

[0015] According to an embodiment of the present invention, the safety airbag further comprises a first pull strap and a second pull strap, the first pull strap being arranged inside the first airbag and configured to be fixed to two side surfaces of the first airbag in the thickness direction, the second pull strap being arranged inside the second airbag and having one end configured to be connected to the front side of the second airbag, and the other end of the pull strap being configured to be connected between the first side flank and the second side flank. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0016] Features, benefits, and technical effects of exemplary embodiments of the present invention are described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which like reference numerals refer to like elements. [Figure 1] FIG. 1 shows a schematic diagram of a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 shows a schematic of some of the components within a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3a]FIG. 3a shows a schematic representation of some components within a safety airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3b] Figure 3b shows a schematic representation of some components within a safety airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 3c] FIG. 3c shows a schematic representation of some components within a safety airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 4] FIG. 4 shows a schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0017] Specific embodiments of the safety airbag according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description and the accompanying drawings are used to exemplarily explain the principles of the present invention. The present invention is not limited to the preferred embodiments described, and the various embodiments described in the present invention can be used individually or in any combination. The protection scope of the present invention is defined by the claims.

[0018] Additionally, spatial relationship terms (such as "upper," "lower," "left," "right," etc.) are used to describe the relative positional relationship between an element and another element shown in the accompanying drawings. Thus, when used, the spatial relationship terms may apply to orientations other than those shown in the accompanying drawings. Of course, for ease of explanation, these spatial relationship terms all refer to the orientations shown in the accompanying drawings, although one skilled in the art will understand that orientations other than those shown in the drawings may be used.

[0019] 1 shows a schematic diagram of a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention, which will now be described with reference to FIG.

[0020] As shown in FIG. 1 , the safety airbag 10 provided by the present invention is intended to be mounted on the top of a vehicle and therefore may also be referred to as an overhead safety airbag. The safety airbag 10 includes an airbag having an inflated state and a stowed state. When the airbag is in the inflated state, the airbag is used to protect an occupant. When the airbag is in the stowed state, the airbag is stowed in a predetermined position in the vehicle (e.g., the top of the vehicle). In the safety airbag 10 of the present invention, the airbag includes a first airbag 11 and a second airbag 12 configured to be in fluid communication with each other. In the inflated state, the first airbag 11 extends further in the front-to-rear direction than the second airbag 12. In one embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1 , the first airbag 11 is constructed to be flat in the inflated state.

[0021] The "front-rear direction" here refers to the front-rear direction of the vehicle, and the first airbag 11 extends further in the front-rear direction of the vehicle than the second airbag 12, so that the front and rear ends of the first airbag 11 can be reliably positioned at predetermined positions. In particular, the front end of the first airbag 11 can be reliably positioned, for example, between the dashboard and windshield of the vehicle, and the rear end of the first airbag 11 can be positioned in the upper part of the vehicle, making it easier to maintain the stability of the inflated state of the airbag as a whole.

[0022] Continuing with reference to Figure 1, as shown in Figure 1, the second airbag 12 is formed by a first side flank 121 and a second side flank 122, and has a recess for accommodating the occupant's head. The safety airbag 10 further includes a guide 13 (not shown in Figure 1) provided at the connection position between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12, and the guide 13 is used to guide the gas flow of one of the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12 toward the other. The above will be explained in more detail below.

[0023] FIG. 2 schematically illustrates some components in a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c) schematically illustrate some components in a safety airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention. Some components in safety airbags according to different embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3(a) to 3(c). Note that in the following description, it is assumed that a gas generator is provided in a first airbag. That is, the guide is used to guide gas in the first airbag to flow toward a second airbag. However, this is merely an example, and the safety airbag of the present invention is not limited thereto. For example, the gas generator may be provided in a second airbag. In this case, the guide is used to guide gas in the second airbag to flow toward the first airbag. An exemplary description is provided below.

[0024] As shown in FIG. 2, FIG. 2 illustrates several components of a safety airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention. Specifically, a first airbag 11 and a guide 13 are illustrated so that the structure of the safety airbag of the present invention can be clearly observed. In this embodiment, a communication port is provided between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12. As shown in FIG. 2, a communication port 111 is provided on the underside of the first airbag 11. Correspondingly, a communication port (not shown) is also provided on the upper side of the second airbag 12 shown in FIG. 1. Gas flow between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12 is achieved through the corresponding communication port. Furthermore, by providing communication ports only on a portion of the opposing surfaces of the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12 and connecting the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12 only through the communication port, relative displacement between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12 in an inflated state can be permitted, making it easier to accommodate the occupant's head and reliably protecting the occupant. Furthermore, the guide 13 is provided at the communication port 111 and is used to guide the gas flow between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12. An advantage of providing the guide 13 is that the guide 13 can be used to slow down the gas flow between the first airbag 11 and the second airbag 12, thereby preventing the airbag from being inflated too quickly and making it difficult to position the airbag in a predetermined position.

[0025] 2, the guide 13 includes a redirecting portion 132 and a guiding portion 131 adjacent to the redirecting portion 13, and the gas flowing downward toward the redirecting portion 132 is blocked and thus changes direction, and is then guided by the guiding portion 131 to flow in four directions as shown by the arrows. It can be seen that under the action of the guide 13, the gas flow direction changes from a downward direction to a direction essentially parallel to the lower surface of the first airbag 11.

[0026] In one embodiment of the present invention, the guide 13 is constructed to be formed from a single sheet. For the guide 13 shown in FIG. 2, it can be seen that the manufacturing steps include bending a single flat sheet and machining holes at specific locations on the sheet. Thus, the turning portion 132 is constructed as part of the single sheet, and the guiding portion 132 is constructed as an opening in the single sheet. The openings include openings formed after drilling and openings formed by the bending process.

[0027] As an alternative to the embodiment shown in FIG. 2, the guide may be configured to have the structure shown in FIGS. 3(a) to 3(c). The guide 13A shown in FIG. 3(a) is formed by bending a single sheet, and its direction change portion 132A is cross-shaped. The guide portion 131A is formed by an opening formed by bending a single sheet. Gas is guided by the guide portion 131A and flows in four directions as indicated by the arrows. The guide 13B shown in FIG. 3(b) is formed by bending a single sheet, and its direction change portion 131B is positioned so that a predetermined angle is formed between the lower surface of the first airbag 11 and the guide portion 132B. The guide portion 132B is formed by an opening formed by bending a single sheet. The guide portion 132B guides gas in only one direction as indicated by the arrows. The guide 13C shown in FIG. 3(c) has multiple direction change portions 132C and multiple guide portions 131C. The direction-changing portions 132C and the guide portions 131C are arranged alternately. The guide portions 131C guide the gas in only one direction, as indicated by the arrow. Although several examples of guides in the safety airbag of the present invention have been described above, it should be understood that the guides of the present invention are not limited thereto. Any guide that can change the direction of gas so as to reduce the flow rate of gas can be used in the safety airbag of the present invention.

[0028] In one embodiment of the present invention, the first side flank and the second side flank are formed from the same piece of fabric. In another embodiment of the present invention, the first side flank includes a first inner surface for forming the recess, and the second side flank includes a second inner surface for forming the recess, and the first inner surface and the second inner surface are adjacent to each other. This has the advantage of simplifying the manufacturing process of the safety airbag and reducing manufacturing costs.

[0029] In one embodiment of the present invention, the safety airbag further includes a first pull strap and a second pull strap, the first pull strap being provided inside the first airbag and configured to be secured to two side surfaces of the first airbag in a thickness direction, and the second pull strap being provided inside the second airbag, one end of the pull strap being connected to a front side of the second airbag, and the other end of the pull strap being connected between the first side flank and the second side flank. Thus, the shape of the inflated airbag can be designed in a low-cost and simple manner.

[0030] 4 shows a schematic diagram of a method for manufacturing a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention. A method for manufacturing a safety airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention will now be described with reference to FIG.

[0031] As shown in FIG. 4 , six cloth pieces are prepared: a first cloth piece W1, a second cloth piece W2, a third cloth piece W3, a fourth cloth piece W4, a fifth cloth piece W5, and a sixth cloth piece W6. The first cloth piece W1, the second cloth piece W2, and the third cloth piece W3 are used to form the second airbag 12. The first cloth piece W1 in the inflated state is constructed to include a left portion and a right portion. The right portion is used to form the first side flank 121. The left portion is used to form the second side flank 122. Additionally, the second cloth piece W2 is constructed to form a front side. The front side can be understood as the side facing the vehicle windshield, i.e., the invisible side of the second airbag shown in FIG. 1 . The third cloth piece W3 is constructed to be used to form a second pull strap inside the second airbag 12. The fourth cloth piece W4 and the fifth cloth piece W5 are used to form the first airbag 11. The sixth cloth piece W6 is used to form a first pull strap on the inside of the first airbag 11.

[0032] A method for manufacturing an airbag of a safety airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention includes the steps of: Providing a first piece of cloth W1, and marking six characteristic points A1, A2, A3, B1, B2, and B3 on an upper edge of the first piece of cloth W1, where point A3 and point B1 coincide; marking six feature points A4, A5, A6, B6, B5, and B4 on a lower edge of the first cloth piece W1; providing a second piece of cloth W2 and marking five feature points C1, C5, C2, C3, and C4 on the second piece of cloth W2; Aligning point A1 with point A3, bending edge line A1A2 so that edge line A1A2 and edge line A2A3 overlap, and connecting edge line A1A2 and edge line A2A3 (for example, by sewing or gluing); Aligning point B1 with point B3, folding edge line B2B3 and edge line B2B1 so that they overlap, and connecting line B1B2 and edge line B2B3 (for example, by sewing or gluing), and overlapping edge line A1A4 and edge line B3B4 and sewing them together; Matching A6 and C4, matching B6 and C3, overlapping and sewing the edge lines A6B6 and C4C3, overlapping and sewing the edge lines B6B5B4 and C3C2C5, overlapping and sewing the edge lines C4C1C5 and A6A5A4, providing a third cloth piece W3, connecting one end of the third cloth piece W3 to the first cloth piece W1, for example, at a position close to the feature point A3 / B1 of W1, and connecting the other end of the third cloth piece W3 to the second cloth piece W2, for example, at the middle of W2; providing a fourth cloth piece W4, a fifth cloth piece W5, and a sixth cloth piece W6, overlapping and sewing together the edge line D1D4 and the edge line D5D8, overlapping and sewing together the edge line D6D7 and the edge line D2D3, overlapping and sewing together the edge line D7D8 and the edge line D2D1, overlapping and sewing together the edge line F1F2 and the edge line E1E6, overlapping and sewing together the edge line F3F4 and the edge line E5E4, and overlapping and sewing together the edge line G1G2 and the edge line E2E3; and connecting the first airbag and the second airbag through a communication port.

[0033] It should be noted that the above-mentioned method for manufacturing the airbag of the safety airbag of the present invention is merely an example, and those skilled in the art can adjust the order of steps or even delete steps of the above-mentioned method according to actual requirements.

[0034] As mentioned above, although exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in the specification with reference to the accompanying drawings, the present invention is not limited to the specific embodiments described above, and the scope of protection of the present invention should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.

Claims

1. A safety airbag mounted on the top of a vehicle, comprising: an airbag having an inflated state and a stowed state; the airbag comprises a first airbag and a second airbag, the first airbag and the second airbag being connected to each other only at a communication port provided in only a portion of the opposing surfaces of the first airbag and the second airbag, and being in fluid communication with each other, the first airbag extending in the front-to-rear direction beyond the second airbag and being flattened when the airbag is in the inflated state, the second airbag having a recess formed by a first side flank and a second side flank and used to accommodate an occupant's head, The safety airbag further comprises a guide provided at a connection position between the first airbag and the second airbag; The guide is provided at the communication port and has: a direction changing portion that changes the direction of the gas flow flowing through the communication port from the first airbag to the second airbag in a direction parallel to the underside of the first airbag; and a guide portion that is adjacent to the direction changing portion and guides the gas flow that has been changed in direction by the direction changing portion.

2. 2. The safety airbag according to claim 1, wherein the guide is constructed to be formed from a single sheet, the turning portion is constructed from a portion of the single sheet, and the guiding portion is constructed to be an opening in the single sheet.

3. 2. The safety airbag according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of redirecting portions are provided, a plurality of guiding portions are provided, and the redirecting portions and the guiding portions are arranged alternately.

4. 2. The safety airbag of claim 1, wherein the first side flank and the second side flank are formed by the same piece of fabric.

5. 5. The safety airbag of claim 4, wherein the first side flank includes a first inner surface for forming the recess, the second side flank includes a second inner surface for forming the recess, and the first inner surface and the second inner surface are adjacent to each other.

6. 2. The safety airbag of claim 1, further comprising a first pull strap and a second pull strap, wherein the first pull strap is configured to be provided inside the first airbag and secured to two sides of the first airbag in a thickness direction, the second pull strap is configured to be provided inside the second airbag and has one end connected to a front side of the second airbag, and the other end of the second pull strap is configured to be connected between the first side flank and the second side flank.

7. The openings include two drilled openings formed by drilling holes in the sheet, and two folded openings formed by folding the sheet, The two drilled openings are oriented in the front-to-rear direction; 3. The safety airbag according to claim 2, wherein the bent opening is oriented in a left-right direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

8. A safety airbag as described in Claim 7, characterized in that the bent opening is larger than the hole opening.

Images