Airbags

Abstract

To provide an airbag which can control a deployment direction with a simple structure.SOLUTION: An airbag 1 includes: an airbag body 5 having panels 10, 11 facing each other in a vehicle width direction; and connection parts 12 which connect the panels 10, 11 with each other. The connection parts 12 extend in a vertical direction and are located spaced apart from each other in an anteroposterior direction and formed so that a clearance between the connection parts 12 decreases from the upper side to the lower side. The airbag 1 is installed at a vehicle body so that a portion including a lowermost end of each connection part 12 is located at the lower side than an upper end of an interior material 36 disposed at a side part in a passenger compartment.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an airbag that is folded and deployed downward by gas introduced therein to cover the side of a vehicle interior. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, among airbag devices equipped with an airbag that inflates and deploys when gas is introduced, so-called curtain airbag devices have been known, which deploy a longitudinal airbag in the front and rear along a predetermined surface of the vehicle interior, including the side pillars and door windows. The airbag of such an airbag device is normally folded into a long, thin shape and positioned along the roof side at the upper edge of the window. When an impact such as a side collision or rollover occurs, gas is supplied from an inflator, causing the airbag to inflate and deploy downward along the side window glass, restraining the occupant and protecting their head and other parts of the body.

[0003] Among such curtain airbags, there is known one that is configured to limit the amount of deployment in the vehicle width direction and guide gas that flows inside by using a joint that joins panels that face each other in the thickness direction of the airbag, i.e., the vehicle width direction (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0004] [Patent Document 1] JP 2014-177164 A (pages 4-10, Figures 1-6) Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0005] Curtain airbags are required to be less likely to sway in the vehicle width direction when deployed and to deploy in a desired direction.

[0006] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and has an object to provide an airbag having a simple structure and capable of controlling the deployment direction. [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The airbag described in claim 1 is formed in a bag shape, and is deployed downward from a folded state by gas introduced therein to cover a side portion of a vehicle interior, and includes an airbag body having panels facing each other in a vehicle width direction, and a connecting portion connecting the panels together. a gas inlet formed in an upper portion of the airbag body; The connecting portions extend in the vertical direction, are spaced apart from each other in the front and rear, and are formed so that the distance between them decreases from top to bottom. The connecting portions are installed on the vehicle body so that a portion including the lowest end of each connecting portion is lower than an upper end of an interior material that is arranged on a side of the vehicle interior. , any of the connecting portions is formed in communication with the gas introduction portion It is something.

[0008] The airbag according to claim 2 is the airbag according to claim 1, wherein any of the connecting portions is located along an imaginary line and has a discontinuous portion in part.

[0009] The airbag according to claim 3 is the airbag according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a lower end portion of at least one of the connecting portions is formed in a ring shape. 。 [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the airbag of claim 1, The gas introduced into the airbag body from the gas introduction portion can be smoothly guided between the connecting portions, The gas introduced between the connecting parts , as the spacing between the links decreases from top to bottom, The air is quickly introduced to the bottom while accelerating its flow rate. quickly Expand downwards It will be possible to In addition, since the core connecting part is located at the part that abuts against the interior material when deployed, the deployed airbag is less likely to bend in the vehicle width direction even when it comes into contact with the interior material, and shaking in the vehicle width direction is suppressed, allowing the deployment direction to be controlled appropriately, making it possible to control the deployment direction with a simple configuration.

[0011] According to the airbag of claim 2, in addition to the effect of the airbag of claim 1, since the connecting portion is located along the imaginary line, even if there is a discontinuous portion in part, the connecting portion resumes on the extension of the imaginary line, making it possible to quickly deploy the airbag downward even after subtracting the gas that flows out from the discontinuous portion.

[0012] According to the airbag of claim 3, in addition to the effects of the airbag of claim 1 or 2, the lower end of the annular connecting part reinforces the part that abuts against the interior material in the deployed state, making it difficult for the deployed airbag to bend in the vehicle width direction even when it comes into contact with the interior material, and making it possible to more suitably control the deployment direction. 。 [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] 1A is a side view showing the deployed state of an airbag according to a first embodiment of the present invention as seen from the passenger compartment side, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along a line II in FIG. 1A. [Figure 2] FIG. 10 is a side view showing the deployed state of an airbag according to a second embodiment of the present invention, viewed from the vehicle interior side. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A first embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIG.

[0015] In Figures 1(a) and 1(b), reference numeral 1 denotes an airbag. Airbag 1 is also called a curtain airbag, a side-impact airbag, an inflatable curtain, or a head-protection airbag, and is formed in a bag shape and folded into a long, thin shape and stored along the roof side, which is the installation area of ​​a vehicle such as an automobile, i.e., the upper edge of the door opening of the vehicle body. When the airbag 1 is subjected to an impact in a side collision or in the event of a rollover, gas introduced into the airbag 1 causes it to deploy from above to below in a substantially planar shape along the side of the vehicle interior, protecting the heads of occupants as protected objects.

[0016] In the following, directions such as the front-to-rear direction, both sides (i.e., the width direction of the vehicle), and up-down direction will be described based on the vehicle's straight-ahead direction, and will refer to the front direction (arrow FR direction), rear direction (arrow RR direction), up (arrow U direction), down (arrow D direction), outside the passenger compartment (arrow W direction), and inside the passenger compartment (arrow C direction).

[0017] In this embodiment, the airbag 1 is exemplified as a small airbag applied to protect a front-seat occupant in a so-called sports vehicle that does not have a rear seat. The airbag 1 is made of one or more base fabrics, and is configured by joining the base fabrics at outer edge joining portions 3 formed by sewing or the like, to include a bag-shaped airbag main body 5 and a gas inlet portion 6 that introduces gas into the airbag main body 5. The airbag 1 is attached to the vehicle body at multiple points on its upper edge by multiple attachment portions 7, and its front end is attached to a pillar (front pillar) on the vehicle body by a tether belt 8 serving as a tether portion.

[0018] The airbag main body 5 is shaped like a flat bag in the vehicle width direction, with a panel 10 on the vehicle interior side and a panel 11 on the vehicle exterior side facing each other in the vehicle width direction. The airbag main body 5 is formed elongated in the front-to-rear direction. The airbag main body 5 covers the windshield and deploys to be located to the side of an occupant seated in the front seat. The airbag main body 5 has an inflation section 13 formed by connecting the panels 10 and 11 to each other via a connecting section 12. In this embodiment, the inflation section 13 is set to have a front auxiliary chamber 15 which is a first inflation section, a main chamber 16 which is a second inflation section, and a rear auxiliary chamber 17 which is a third inflation section.

[0019] The front auxiliary chamber 15 is located at the front end of the inflation section 13. The front auxiliary chamber 15 receives some of the gas to suppress the increase in internal pressure that occurs when the occupant's head is restrained in the main chamber 16, thereby maintaining a stable, constant pressure in the main chamber 16. The front auxiliary chamber 15 also functions to protect the head of an occupant who is thrown forward and out of the vehicle in the event of a frontal oblique collision (oblique collision).

[0020] The main chamber 16 is located in the center of the inflation section 13 in the longitudinal direction. The main chamber 16 is directly connected to the gas introduction section 6. The main chamber 16 is a section that restrains the head of an occupant who is thrown out and moving toward the outside of the vehicle in the event of a side collision. The main chamber 16 is set to have a larger capacity than the front auxiliary chamber 15 and the rear auxiliary chamber 17.

[0021] The rear auxiliary chamber 17 is located at the rear end of the inflation section 13. The rear auxiliary chamber 17 is a part that receives some of the gas to suppress the increase in internal pressure that occurs in the main chamber 16 or the front auxiliary chamber 15 when the occupant's head is restrained, thereby maintaining the main chamber 16 or the front auxiliary chamber 15 at a stable, constant pressure.

[0022] The connecting portion 12 is formed to extend linearly in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the connecting portion 12 includes a first connecting portion 20 and a second connecting portion 21 that are set apart from each other in the front-rear direction.

[0023] The first connecting portion 20 is interposed between the front auxiliary chamber 15 and the main chamber 16. The first connecting portion 20 is formed so as to incline rearward from its upper end to its lower end. The upper end of the first connecting portion 20 extends above the vertical center of the airbag main body 5 in the deployed state, and the lower end of the first connecting portion 20 extends below the vertical center of the airbag main body 5 in the deployed state. In the illustrated example, the upper and lower ends of the first connecting portion 20 are located above and below the tether belt 8.

[0024] The first connecting portion 20 has an upper end and a lower end that are respectively close to the outer edge joint 3, but are discontinuous with the outer edge joint 3. Therefore, communication openings 22, 23 that communicate between the front auxiliary chamber 15 and the main chamber 16 are formed between the upper end of the first connecting portion 20 and the outer edge joint 3, and between the lower end of the first connecting portion 20 and the outer edge joint 3. In the illustrated example, the first connecting portion 20 has a linear first connecting portion main body 25 and ring-shaped (circular) annular portions 26, 27 that are formed continuous with the upper and lower ends of the first connecting portion main body 25. The communication opening 22 is formed between the annular portion 26 and the outer edge joint 3, and the communication opening 23 is formed between the annular portion 27 and the outer edge joint 3. The annular portions 26, 27 ensure stretch of the base fabric and prevent wrinkles from occurring during inflation and deployment, and also provide sufficient strength against stress concentration that occurs at the end of the first connecting portion 20 when the airbag main body 5 is inflated and deployed.

[0025] The second connecting portion 21 is interposed between the main chamber 16 and the rear auxiliary chamber 17. The second connecting portion 21 is formed to be inclined forward from its upper end toward its lower end. Therefore, the second connecting portion 21 and the first connecting portion 20 are formed so that the distance between them decreases, for example, gradually decreases, from top to bottom. That is, the distance G1 between the upper ends of the second connecting portion 21 and the first connecting portion 20 is set larger than the distance G2 between the lower ends of the second connecting portion 21 and the first connecting portion 20. In the illustrated example, the distance G1 is set to approximately 1.5 to 2 times the distance G2. Therefore, the main chamber 16 is formed so that it gradually narrows in the front-to-rear direction from top to bottom. The upper end of the second connecting portion 21 extends above the vertical center of the airbag body 5 in the deployed state. In this embodiment, the upper end of the second connecting portion 21 is formed to be continuous with the gas inlet portion 6. Furthermore, the lower end of the second connecting portion 21 is located below the vertical center of the airbag body 5 in the deployed state. In this embodiment, the lower end of the second connecting portion 21 is formed to be continuous with the outer edge joint portion 3 .

[0026] The second connecting portion 21 has a second connecting portion main body 30 that is linear along the imaginary line L, and an annular (circular) portion 31 that is formed continuous with the second connecting portion main body 30. The annular portion 31 ensures the base fabric stretches and prevents wrinkles from occurring when the airbag is inflated and deployed, and also provides sufficient strength against the stress concentration that occurs at the end of the second connecting portion 21 when the airbag main body 5 is inflated and deployed.

[0027] In the illustrated example, the second connecting portion 21 is located along the imaginary line L and has a discontinuous portion. That is, the second connecting portion 21 is divided into an upper connecting portion 21a on the upper side and a lower connecting portion 21b on the lower side, and an opening 32, which is a discontinuous portion that connects the main chamber 16 and the rear auxiliary chamber 17, is formed between the upper connecting portion 21a and the lower connecting portion 21b.

[0028] The upper connecting portion 21a includes an upper connecting portion main body 30a that forms the upper side of the second connecting portion main body 30, and an upper annular portion 31a that is continuous with the lower end of the upper connecting portion main body 30a. The upper connecting portion 21a is formed continuous with a joint 34 that is continuous with the outer edge joint 3. The joint 34 extends in the front-to-rear direction, continuous with the outer edge joint 3 on the rear side that extends from the gas inlet 6 to the airbag main body 5. The upper annular portion 31a is located at approximately the same height as the annular portion 26 of the first connecting portion 20, or slightly higher than the annular portion 26.

[0029] The lower connecting portion 21b comprises a lower connecting portion main body 30b that forms the lower side of the second connecting portion main body 30, and a lower annular portion 31b that is continuous with the upper end of the lower connecting portion main body 30b. The lower connecting portion main body 30b is located on the same imaginary line L as the upper connecting portion main body 30a. The lower end of the lower connecting portion main body 30b is continuous with the outer edge joint portion 3 on the lower side. The lower annular portion 31b is located at approximately the same height as the annular portion 27 of the first connecting portion 20, or slightly higher than the annular portion 27. An opening 32 is located between the lower annular portion 31b and the upper annular portion 31a.

[0030] The airbag 1 is then installed on the vehicle body so that the lower connecting portion 21b that forms the lowest end of the second connecting portion 21, the lower end side of the first connecting portion main body 25 of the first connecting portion 20, and the annular portion 27 that forms the lowest end of the first connecting portion 20 are each below the upper end of the interior material 36 when the airbag 1 is deployed.

[0031] The interior trim 36 is a door trim that forms the lower part of the windshield on the side of the vehicle body. The interior trim 36 is made of, for example, synthetic resin and is arranged to cover the passenger compartment side of the door panel. The interior trim 36 extends in the front-rear direction and is positioned so that the airbag body 5 in the deployed state faces the lower end of the panel 11 on the vehicle exterior side.

[0032] In addition, the gas introduction section 6, which is located at the upper part, i.e., the deployment base end side, of the airbag main body 5, is located at the rear of the upper part of the airbag main body 5 in this embodiment. The gas introduction section 6 is formed in a cylindrical shape and extends obliquely from the airbag main body 5 toward the rear and upper side. In this embodiment, the gas introduction section 6 is located parallel or approximately parallel to the imaginary line L. At the rear end, i.e., the tip end of the gas introduction section 6, the outer edge joint 3 is discontinuous, and an insertion opening 40, into which an inflator serving as a gas generator is inserted, is formed. In this embodiment, the gas introduction section 6 together with the inflator is located, for example, above a center pillar. In addition, a reinforcing member 41 is located inside the gas introduction section 6 to protect the gas introduction section 6 from the pressure of the gas introduced from the inflator. The reinforcing member 41 is formed, for example, of a base fabric.

[0033] The airbag 1 is then folded into a predetermined elongated shape in the front-to-rear direction with the inflator inserted into the insertion opening 40. The folded shape is maintained by a shape-retaining member such as a sleeve, and the airbag is attached to a vehicle body panel in the vehicle interior via a bracket, such as a metal bracket, before interior materials such as a headliner and pillar garnish are attached. This attachment is performed by attaching and fastening the airbag 1's mounting portions 7 and tether belt 8 to the vehicle body with fasteners such as bolts (not shown), and fastening the inflator to a roof side portion or the like. The inflator is connected to a control device provided on the vehicle body. Next, a headliner is attached to the ceiling panel of the vehicle body to cover the airbag 1, and pillar garnishes are attached to each pillar, completing the attachment of the airbag 1 to the vehicle body. In this attached state, the airbag 1 is isolated from the vehicle interior by the headliner and pillar garnish, and the inflator inserted in the gas introduction portion 6 and the folded airbag main body 5 are held above the pillar garnish.

[0034] In the event of a side collision or rollover of the vehicle, the inflator is activated by the control device, and gas ejected from the inflator inflates the gas inlet 6 and is then introduced into the airbag main body 5. First, gas is introduced directly from the gas inlet 6 to the upper part of the main chamber 16 via the joint 34 and the connecting part 12 (second connecting part 21) into the airbag main body 5.

[0035] In this embodiment, the first connecting portion 20 and the second connecting portion 21 of the connecting portion 12 are formed so that the distance between them decreases from top to bottom, and therefore, gas introduced into the upper part of the main chamber 16 between the first connecting portion 20 and the second connecting portion 21 of the connecting portion 12 increases in flow rate and is quickly introduced to the lower part of the main chamber 16, causing the airbag body 5 to deploy downward early. A portion of the gas introduced into the main chamber 16 is introduced into the front auxiliary chamber 15 through the communication openings 22, 23 and into the rear auxiliary chamber 17 through the opening 32. At this time, the portion of the connecting portion 12 including the lowest ends of the first connecting portion 20 and the second connecting portion 21 is lower than the upper end of the interior trim 36, and therefore the connecting portion 12, which serves as a core of the airbag 1, is located at a portion of the airbag 1 that abuts against the interior trim 36 in the deployed state. This makes it difficult for the deployed airbag 1 to bend in the vehicle width direction even if it comes into strong contact with the interior trim 36, suppressing shaking in the vehicle width direction and appropriately controlling the deployment direction. Therefore, the airbag 1 is prevented from deploying toward the windshield or from partly protruding (swinging out) from the windshield to the outside of the vehicle, and the airbag body 5 that is inflated and deployed in a planar shape restrains and protects the occupant in the main chamber 16 or the front auxiliary chamber 15.

[0036] In this way, according to this embodiment, the deployment direction can be controlled with a simple configuration.

[0037] Furthermore, since either of the connecting portions 12, the second connecting portion 21 in this embodiment, is located along the imaginary line L, even if it has a discontinuous opening 32 in part, by rejoining it on an extension of the imaginary line L, it is possible to rapidly deploy the airbag 1 downward even after subtracting the gas that flows out from the opening 32. In particular, in this embodiment, since the opening 32 is located near the center in the vertical direction of the second connecting portion 21, it is difficult for the second connecting portion 21 to come into contact with the head of an occupant restrained in the main compartment 16, and it is possible for the inflatable portion 13 to reliably protect the head.

[0038] Furthermore, the lower end portion (annular portion 27, 31b) of the connecting portion 12, which is formed in a ring shape, strengthens the portion that abuts against the interior material 36 when the airbag 1 is in the deployed state, making it less likely for the deployed airbag 1 to bend in the vehicle width direction even if it comes into strong contact with the interior material 36, and allowing for more optimal control of the deployment direction.

[0039] Furthermore, by forming one of the connecting parts 12, in this embodiment the second connecting part 21, to be connected to the gas inlet part 6, the gas introduced into the airbag main body part 5 from the gas inlet part 6 can be more smoothly guided between the connecting parts 12 (between the first connecting part 20 and the second connecting part 21), and as the spacing between the connecting parts 12 decreases from top to bottom, the airbag 1 can be deployed downward more quickly.

[0040] Next, a second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 2. Note that the same components and functions as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and the description thereof will be omitted.

[0041] In this embodiment, the second connecting portion 21 of the connecting portion 12 is continuous with the gas inlet portion 6 (joint portion 34) and extends linearly without any discontinuous portion.

[0042] The second connecting portion 21 has a second connecting portion main body 30 that extends downward and tilts forward. The lower end of the second connecting portion 21 is located close to the outer edge joint 3 but is discontinuous with the outer edge joint 3. Therefore, an opening 32 that communicates with the main chamber 16 and the rear auxiliary chamber 17 is formed between the lower end (annular portion 31) of the second connecting portion 21 and the outer edge joint 3.

[0043] In addition, the airbag 1 is installed on the vehicle body so that the lower end side of the second connecting portion main body 30 of the second connecting portion 21 and the annular portion 31 that forms the lowest end of the second connecting portion 21 are lower than the upper end of the interior material 36 when the airbag 1 is deployed.

[0044] Then, gas injected from the inflator is introduced into the airbag main body 5 from the gas introduction section 6. In the airbag main body 5, gas is first introduced directly from the gas introduction section 6 to the upper part of the main chamber 16 via the joint 34 and the connecting section 12 (second connecting section 21), and because the first connecting section 20 and the second connecting section 21 of the connecting section 12 are formed so that the distance between them decreases from top to bottom, the gas introduced into the upper part of the main chamber 16 is quickly introduced to the lower part of the main chamber 16 while accelerating its flow rate, and the airbag main body 5 deploys downwards quickly. In this case, the portion of the connecting part 12 including the lowest ends of the first connecting part 20 and the second connecting part 21 is lower than the upper end of the interior material 36, and as a result the connecting part 12, which is the core of the airbag 1, is located at the part that abuts against the interior material 36, so that the deployed airbag 1 is less likely to bend in the vehicle width direction even if it comes into strong contact with the interior material 36, and shaking in the vehicle width direction is suppressed, preventing the airbag 1 from deploying toward the windshield or part of it protruding outside the vehicle from the windshield (swinging out), and the airbag main body 5, which is inflated and deployed in a planar shape, restrains and protects the occupant through the main chamber 16 or the front auxiliary chamber 15.

[0045] In this way, also in the second embodiment, the gas introduced between the connecting parts 12 is quickly introduced to the lower part while accelerating its flow rate, causing the airbag main body 5 to deploy downwards early, and since the connecting parts 12 which form the core are located at the part that abuts against the interior material 36 in the deployed state, the deployed airbag 1 is less likely to bend in the vehicle width direction even when it comes into contact with the interior material 36, and shaking in the vehicle width direction is suppressed, allowing the deployment direction to be suitably controlled, thereby achieving the same effects as in the first embodiment, such as being able to control the deployment direction with a simple configuration.

[0046] In each of the above embodiments, the airbag 1 is applied to a curtain airbag installed in a vehicle without a rear seat, but it is not limited to this and can also be applied to a curtain airbag for a vehicle with a rear seat. [Industrial Applicability]

[0047] The present invention can be applied to an airbag and an airbag device that are attached along a window on the side of an automobile and deployed to protect an occupant, for example. [Explanation of symbols]

[0048] 1 airbag 5 Airbag body 6 Gas inlet Panels 10 and 11 12 Connecting part 32 Discontinuous openings 36 Interior materials L Virtual Line

Claims

1. An airbag formed in a bag shape that is folded and deployed downward by gas introduced into the interior to cover the side of the vehicle interior, an airbag body having panels facing each other in a vehicle width direction; a connecting portion that connects the panels together; a gas inlet portion formed in an upper portion of the airbag body, The connecting portions extend in the vertical direction, are spaced apart from each other in the front and rear directions, and are formed so that the distance between them decreases from top to bottom, the connecting portions are installed on the vehicle body such that a portion including the lowermost end of each connecting portion is lower than an upper end of an interior material to be arranged on a side portion of the vehicle interior; Any of the connecting portions is formed in communication with the gas inlet portion. An airbag characterized by:

2. Any of the connecting portions is located along the imaginary line and has a discontinuous portion.

2. The airbag according to claim 1.

3. At least one of the connecting portions has a lower end formed in a ring shape.

3. The airbag according to claim 1 or 2.

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