Occupant protection devices

Abstract

To provide an occupant protection device which can softly receive the chest of an occupant.SOLUTION: An occupant protection device S for protecting an occupant MP seated on a seat 1 comprises: an air bag 25; a holding body 10 which stores and holds the folded air bag; and an inflator 17 which supplies inflation gas to the air bag. The air bag is configured to protrude from the holding body by making the inflation gas flow into it and be inflated so as to cover the front side of the occupant, and includes an occupant side wall part 37 which is arranged on the occupant side in the time of inflation completion and can restrain the upper body MU of the occupant. The occupant side wall part is configured such that a chest restraint region 47b which is arranged in an intermediate portion on the vertical direction side in the time of inflation completion and can restrain the chest MB of the occupant has the narrow width on the left-right direction side in comparison to an upper side portion 47a and a lower side portion 47c arranged on the upper and lower sides with the chest restraint region interposed therebetween.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

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

[0002] Conventional occupant protection devices include a folded airbag held by a holder in front of the waist of an occupant seated in a seat, and an airbag that is inflated by flowing inflation gas into the airbag, causing it to protrude from the holder and inflate to cover the front of the occupant (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this conventional occupant protection device, the airbag, when fully inflated, is configured to protect the occupant by a rear region that is positioned substantially vertically to cover the front of the occupant from the abdomen to the head. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

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

[0004] In this conventional passenger protection device, the rear surface of the airbag that restrains the passenger when fully inflated is configured to be positioned approximately along the vertical direction, so that the chest is immediately received by this rear surface before the head when fully inflated. However, because the rear surface of the airbag in the conventional passenger protection device is wide and flat when fully inflated, it presses against the chest more than necessary, leaving room for improvement in terms of providing softer protection.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide an occupant protection device that can softly support the chest of an occupant. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The occupant protection device according to the present invention is an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored; a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of the waist of an occupant seated in the seat; an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag; The configuration is such that The airbag is configured to inflate so as to protrude from the holder by injecting inflation gas into the airbag and to cover the front of the occupant, and is configured to include an occupant-side wall portion that is positioned on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper half of the occupant's body, The occupant side wall portion is characterized in that the chest restraint area, which is located in the middle part on the vertical side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the occupant's chest, is configured to be narrower on the left and right sides compared to the upper and lower parts located on both the top and bottom sides of the chest restraint area.

[0007] In the occupant protection device of the present invention, the occupant-side wall portion that restrains the upper half of the occupant's body when the airbag is fully inflated has a chest restraining region that is configured to be narrower in width in both the left and right directions than the upper and lower regions located above and below it. In other words, in the occupant protection device of the present invention, when the airbag is fully inflated, the membrane length in a cross section taken along the left-right direction of the chest restraining region is set shorter than the membrane lengths in cross sections taken along the left-right direction of each of the upper and lower regions. Therefore, when the airbag is fully inflated, the chest restraining region is positioned so as to be partially recessed relative to the upper and lower regions. Therefore, compared to an airbag that inflates to have substantially the same diameter across substantially the entire upper and lower regions, the contact area of ​​the airbag with the chest when fully inflated can be reduced, thereby preventing the inflated airbag from pressing the chest more than necessary.

[0008] Therefore, the passenger protection device of the present invention can gently receive the chest of the passenger.

[0009] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device of the present invention, if the occupant side wall portion is configured to have a bent portion in the chest restraint area so that the upper portion protrudes toward the occupant relative to the lower portion when inflation is complete, the upper portion of the inflated airbag will first come into contact with the head and shoulders, which makes it possible to further prevent the inflated airbag from pressing against the chest, which is preferable. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0010] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat of FIG. 1. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a front view of the seat of FIG. 1, showing the state in which the seat belt is fastened. [Figure 4] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing an airbag used in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment in a state where the airbag is inflated by itself; [Figure 5] FIG. 5 is a schematic rear view of the airbag of FIG. 4. [Figure 6] FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 4. [Figure 7] FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the arrangement of base materials that constitute the airbag of FIG. 4. [Figure 8] 5 is a schematic view illustrating a process of forming a tuck portion in the airbag of FIG. 4. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a front view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment; [Figure 10] 1 is a side view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment; [Figure 11] 1 is a side view of a seat illustrating a state in which an occupant is restrained by an airbag that has completely inflated in the occupant protection device according to an embodiment; DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0011] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, an occupant protection device S of the embodiment is mounted on a vehicle seat 1 and includes a seat belt 7 constituting a holder for holding an airbag 25, the airbag 25, and an inflator 17 for supplying inflation gas to the airbag 25. The seat 1 includes a backrest 2 and a seat portion 3. In the embodiment, the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, left-right directions of the seat 1 unless otherwise specified.

[0012] In this embodiment, the seat belt 7 is mounted on the seat 1 and includes a belt body 8 for restraining an occupant MP seated in the seat 1, a tongue plate 12 attached to the belt body 8, and a buckle 13 for connecting the tongue plate 12. One end of the belt body 8 is fastened to a winding shaft of a retractor (not shown) disposed in the backrest 2, and the other end is fastened to an anchor member 14 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) disposed to the left of the rear end 3b of the seat portion 3 of the seat 1. More specifically, the belt body 8 is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2. In this embodiment, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10, which serves as a retainer for retaining the airbag 25, is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2. 1, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 is exposed at the front of the backrest 2 on the left edge 2a side of the backrest 2 so as to extend substantially along the vertical direction. The belt main body 8 has the lap belt 10 and a shoulder belt 9 stored in the backrest 2, and when the occupant MP is seated, with the tongue plate 12 connected to the buckle 13, the lap belt 10, which is disposed substantially along the horizontal direction between the anchor member 14 and the buckle 13, restrains the lower body MD (lumbar region MW) of the occupant MP, and the shoulder belt 9, which extends from the upper left edge of the backrest 2 and is disposed diagonally to the buckle 13, restrains the upper body MU (from the shoulders MS to the chest MB) of the occupant MP (see FIG. 3). In this embodiment, when an occupant MP is seated, the lap belt 10, which is placed in front of the waist MW of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, and a cover 22, which will be described later, form a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag 25. In the seat belt 7, a retractor (not shown) that is placed in the backrest 2 has a pretensioner mechanism.

[0013] The inflator 17 is mounted on the seat 1, and more specifically, in this embodiment, is disposed at a position below the seat surface 3a of the seat 1. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the inflator 17 includes an inflator body 18 (detailed illustration omitted) having a generally cylindrical outer shape, and a pipe portion 19 extending from the inflator body 18 to supply inflation gas to the airbag 25. The pipe portion 19 extends from the inflator body 18 and is disposed so that its tip is positioned near the boundary between the seat portion 3 and the backrest 2 on the left side of the seat 1, and this tip is configured to be connected to a conduit portion 50 of the airbag 25 (described later) using a clamp 20 (see FIG. 10). In this embodiment, the inflator 17 (inflator body 18) is configured to start operating later than the pretensioner mechanism of the seatbelt 7 in order to restrict the belt body 8 of the seatbelt 7 from being pulled out due to the inflation of the airbag 25. Specifically, the inflator 17 is set to operate 5 ms after the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7 is activated.

[0014] The airbag 25 is held by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 as a holder, folded into a long shape, and covered with the cover 22. Specifically, the airbag 25 is placed in the area of ​​the lap belt 10, with the cover 22 covering the airbag 25, so as to be placed on top of the lap belt 10 when the seat belt 7 is fastened (see FIG. 3). In other words, in this embodiment, the airbag 25 is folded and stored in the gap between the lap belt 10 and the cover 22. In addition, in the unfastened state as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 25 is placed on the back side (backrest 2 side) of the lap belt 10 exposed at the front of the backrest 2. The cover 22 is made of a flexible sheet and is configured to be torn at a predetermined location when the airbag 25 is deployed and inflated, allowing the bag body 26 of the airbag 25 to protrude.

[0015] The airbag 25 is a bag-shaped member formed from a flexible sheet, and as shown in Figures 4 to 6, it includes a bag body 26 and a conduit portion 50 that is connected to the inflator 17 and allows inflation gas to flow into the bag body 26.

[0016] In this embodiment, the bag body 26 has an outer shape at full inflation that is generally triangular prism-shaped with its axial direction generally aligned with the left-right direction and that is wider in the front-to-rear direction toward its lower end, as shown in Figures 4, 6, and 10. In this embodiment, the bag body 26 is bent at its upper and lower intermediate portions so that its upper end 26a at full inflation faces rearward toward the occupant MP. Furthermore, in this embodiment, the bag body 26 has a shape at full inflation as seen from the front-to-rear direction, as shown in Figures 5 and 9, in which its width is greatest at a portion below the center in the front-to-rear direction, and the upper region above this lower wide region (slightly below the center in the front-to-rear direction) is narrowed by being significantly constricted, and the upper end region is wider than this narrow region. That is, the bag body 26 is configured such that an upper wide portion 29 and a lower wide portion 30 are disposed on either side of a narrow portion 28, which is disposed slightly below the vertical center. The narrow portion 28 is disposed in a position corresponding to the chest MB of the occupant MP (see FIGS. 9 and 10 ). Explaining the external shape of the inflated bag body 26 in detail, when viewed from the front-rear direction, the narrow portion 28 is adjacent to the upper side of the lower wide portion 30, and the lower wide portion 30 is configured so that its width in the left-right direction gradually decreases toward its lower end (the front lower end 26 b and the rear lower end 26 c of the bag body 26), and its width in the left-right direction gradually increases from the narrow portion 28 toward the upper wide portion 29, which is disposed toward the upper end 26 a (see FIGS. 5 and 9 ).

[0017] Specifically, the bag body 26 includes an occupant-side wall portion 37 that is positioned toward the occupant MP (rearward) when fully inflated, a front wall portion 32 that is positioned facing the occupant-side wall portion 37 in the longitudinal direction, a lower wall portion 33 that is positioned at the lower end when fully inflated, and left and right wall portions 34 and 35 that are positioned facing each other in the lateral direction when fully inflated. The occupant-side wall portion 37 is bent at its vertically intermediate position in a lateral view so that its upper end 37a projects toward the occupant MP (rearward) when fully inflated. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 9 , the bent portion 40 is formed in the narrow width portion 28 of the bag body 26. The left and right wall portions 34 and 35 are each formed with a vent hole 42 that allows excess inflation gas to be exhausted. More specifically, the vent holes 42 are formed below the center of the left and right wall portions 34 and 35 in the vertical direction, on the leading edge side.

[0018] In the bag body 26 of this embodiment, the lower surface 33a of the lower wall portion 33 forms a supported surface 45 that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag body 26 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP upon full inflation (see FIGS. 10 and 11). The bag body 26 is configured to communicate with the conduit 50 via the communication hole 43 at a portion on the rear lower end 26c side (a portion on the rear end side of the lower wall portion 33) upon full inflation, and the supported surface 45 is configured from an area of ​​the lower wall portion 33 forward of the conduit 50. The lower wall portion 33 (supported surface 45) is positioned with a downward tilt toward the front when the bag body 26 is fully inflated and before receiving the occupant (see FIG. 10). In this embodiment, the communication holes 43 that connect the conduit portion 50 and the bag body 26 are circular openings, and two of them are provided side by side on the left and right sides (see FIGS. 4 and 7).

[0019] In addition, in the bag main body 26 of this embodiment, the occupant-side wall portion 37, which is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, configures an upper body restraint region 47 capable of restraining the upper body MU of the occupant MP when inflation is complete (see FIG. 10). The upper body restraint region 47 is configured so that a chest restraint region 47b capable of restraining the chest MB of the occupant MP is disposed in a vertically intermediate position (specifically, a position below the vertical center) when inflation of the bag main body 26 is complete, a head restraint region 47a is disposed above this chest restraint region 47b as an upper position that restrains the head MH of the occupant MP, and an abdomen restraint region 47c is disposed below the chest restraint region 47b as a lower position that restrains the abdomen MA of the occupant MP (see FIG. 5). In upper body restraint region 47, chest restraint region 47b is composed of an area corresponding to narrow portion 28 of bag body 26, and head restraint region 47a and abdomen restraint region 47c are composed of areas corresponding to upper wide portion 29 and lower wide portion 30 of bag body 26, respectively (see FIGS. 5 and 10). In other words, upper body restraint region 47 is configured so that head restraint region 47a (upper portion) and abdomen restraint region 47c (lower portion) are arranged on both the upper and lower sides of chest restraint region 47b, with chest restraint region 47b in between, and chest restraint region 47b is configured so that it is narrower on the left and right sides than head restraint region 47a (upper portion) and abdomen restraint region 47c (lower portion) which are arranged on both the upper and lower sides of chest restraint region 47b. In addition, the upper body restraint area 47 (occupant side wall portion 37) is configured so that its outer shape when viewed from the front-to-rear direction approximately matches the outer shape of the bag body 26 when fully inflated when viewed from the front-to-rear direction, and the narrow chest restraint area 47b is adjacent to the upper side of the wide abdominal restraint area 47c (lower portion), and the abdominal restraint area 47c (lower portion) is configured so that its width dimension in the left-to-right direction gradually decreases toward its lower end, and the width dimension in the left-to-right direction gradually increases from the chest restraint area 47b toward the wide head restraint area 47a (upper portion) located at its upper end (see Figure 5).

[0020] Furthermore, in the bag body 26 of the embodiment, as described above, the bent portion 40 is arranged in the region of the narrow width portion 28, i.e., in the chest restraint region 47b of the upper body restraint region 47, and this bent portion 40 causes the head restraint region 47a (upper region, upper wide portion 29) in the upper body restraint region 47 to be positioned so as to protrude toward the occupant MP (rearward) relative to the abdomen restraint region 47c (lower region, lower wide portion 30) when the bag body 26 is fully inflated (see FIG. 6). In the case of the embodiment, the bent portion 40 is made up of tuck portions 41 formed by pinching and joining the occupant-side wall portion 37 at separated regions on the up-down direction.

[0021] Specifically, the tuck portion 41 is formed in a substantially oval tuck formation portion 61d (see FIG. 7) that is generally aligned along the left-right direction when an upper portion 61 of the occupant-side panel 60 (described later) that constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 37 is laid out flat, and is formed by partially pinching and folding the upper portion 61 in half, and sewing (joining) the tuck formation portion 61d to join the upper portion 61 (occupant-side wall portion 37) together, as shown in FIG. 8. The tuck formation portion 61d is disposed in an area that constitutes the narrow width portion of the upper portion 61. In this embodiment, the tuck portion 41 is formed so as to protrude forward of the occupant-side wall portion 37 (inside the bag main body 26) (see FIG. 6), and as described above, is disposed in the region of the narrow width portion 28 of the bag main body 26 when inflation is complete, in the thoracic restraint region 47b of the upper body restraint region 47 (position in front of the chest MB of the occupant MP) (see FIGS. 9 and 10). In addition, in this embodiment, the tuck portion 41 (tuck formation portion 61d) has a left-right width dimension W1 set to approximately half the left-right width dimension W2 of the region that constitutes the narrow width portion 28 (thoracic restraint region 47b) when the occupant-side wall portion 37 (upper portion 61 of the occupant-side panel 60) is laid out flat (see FIG. 7).

[0022] In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, in a longitudinal cross section generally along the front-rear direction when the bag body 26 is inflated alone, the intersecting angle α between the tangents of the head restraining region 47a and the abdominal restraining region 47c is set to approximately 130° (see FIG. 6). Furthermore, the intersecting angle β between the tangents of the lower wall portion 33 (supported surface 45) and the abdominal restraining region 47c when the bag body 26 is inflated alone is set to approximately 130° (see FIG. 6). Furthermore, in the embodiment, the bag body 26 has a width dimension in the front-rear direction of the lower end side when fully inflated that is set to a dimension such that the front end of the lower wall portion 33 (front lower end 26b of the bag body 26) is positioned slightly behind the knees MK of the occupant MP, and a width dimension in the up-down direction of the rear end side when fully inflated that is set to a dimension such that the upper end 26a (upper end 37a of the occupant-side wall portion 37, head restraining region 47a) is positioned in front of the head MH of the occupant MP (see FIG. 10). Furthermore, the bag body 26 is configured so that its left-right width dimensions when fully inflated are smaller than the backrest 2 of the seat 1, and its wide regions (upper wide portion 29 and lower wide portion 30) are approximately equal to the width of the upper body MU of the occupant MP so as to stably protect the upper body MU of the occupant MP (see FIG. 9). In this embodiment, when the bag body 26 is fully inflated, the upper wide portion 29 (head restraining region 47a) and the lower wide portion 30 (abdominal restraining region 47c) are configured so that their left-right width dimensions are approximately equal, and the narrow portion 28 (thoracic restraining region 47b) has a left-right width dimension that is approximately 3 / 5 of the upper wide portion 29 (head restraining region 47a) and the lower wide portion 30 (abdominal restraining region 47c) (see FIGS. 5 and 9).

[0023] The conduit 50 extends leftward from the bag body 26, is generally cylindrical with an open tip, and is configured to connect to the pipe 19 of the inflator 17. The conduit 50 is disposed generally along the left-right direction so as to generally follow the lap belt 10 when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, and has a base portion 51 disposed on the underside of the bag body 26 that is wider than a tip portion 52 disposed on the left side of the bag body 26 and connected to the inflator 17. The conduit 50 communicates with the bag body 26 at the base portion 51 via a communication hole 43. The airbag 25 of this embodiment is attached to the lap belt 10 by sewing the base portion 51 of the conduit 50 directly to the lap belt 10 (see FIG. 6). Conduit 50 is configured to include upper wall 54 and lower wall 55 that are arranged opposite each other in the vertical direction, and specifically, the base side region of lower wall 55 (the region that forms base side region 51) is sewn to lap belt 10 with a sewing thread. In this embodiment, stitching region 57 that sews lap belt 10 and conduit 50 together is formed in the shape of a double line that is substantially along the length of lap belt 10 (see FIGS. 4 and 7).

[0024] 7, the airbag 25 of this embodiment is constructed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 7, is composed of an occupant-side panel 60 and a front-side panel 65 that constitute the bag body 26, and two conduit panels 67, 68 that constitute the conduit 50. The occupant-side panel 60, the front-side panel 65, and the conduit panels 67, 68 are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

[0025] The occupant-side panel 60 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and mainly constitutes the region from the occupant-side wall portion 37 to the lower wall portion 33. Specifically, the occupant-side panel 60 includes an upper portion 61 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 37, and a lower portion 62 that mainly constitutes the lower wall portion 33, and has an outer shape such that the upper portion 61 and the lower portion 62 are connected at a portion that constitutes the rear lower end 26c of the bag main body 26. The upper portion 61 constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 37 and the rear regions of the left wall portion 34 and the right wall portion 35. When deployed flat, the upper portion 61 is widest near the lower end 61f, narrows in the region directly above this wide portion, and gradually increases in width slightly toward the upper end 61e. Specifically, the width W3 of the left-right side of the upper end 61e side of the upper region 61 in the flat deployed state (the region that constitutes the upper wide portion 29 (head restraining region 47a) of the bag body 26 at full inflation) is set to approximately 9 / 8 of the width W2 of the left-right side of the region that constitutes the narrowest narrow portion 28 (thoracic restraining region 47b), as shown in FIG. 7 , and is set to be smaller than the width W4 of the lower end 61f side of the upper region 61 (the region that constitutes the lower wide portion 30 (abdominal restraining region 47c) of the bag body 26 at full inflation). The width W4 of the lower end 61f side of the upper region 61 is set to approximately 3 / 2 of the width W2 of the left-right side of the region that constitutes the narrow portion 28 (thoracic restraining region 47b). The lower region 62 constitutes the lower wall 33 and the lower regions of the left wall 34 and right wall 35. The lower portion 62 has an outer shape when laid out flat, which is approximately trapezoidal in shape with the width dimension on the left-right side at the upper portion 61 side being the widest and gradually decreasing toward the front edge 62c so that the width dimension on the left-right side is approximately the same as the width dimension on the left-right side at the lower end 61f of the upper portion 61.

[0026] The front panel 65 mainly constitutes the front wall portion 32 of the bag body 26 when fully inflated (specifically, the front area of ​​the front wall portion 32 and the left and right wall portions 34 and 35), and is configured so that its outer shape when flattened out roughly matches that of the lower portion 62 and upper portion 61 when opened to separate the remaining connected edges (upper edge 61c, front edge 62c) of the lower left edge 61a and rear left edge 62a, and the lower right edge 61b and rear right edge 62b, which are located on the left and right sides of the connecting portion 60a connecting the upper portion 61 and lower portion 62 of the occupant side panel 60.

[0027] The front panel 65 and the occupant-side panel 60 are symmetrical in shape. The bag body 26 of this embodiment is formed into a bag shape by joining the outer peripheral edge 65a of the front panel 65 to the upper edge 61c and front edge 62c of the occupant-side panel 60 in a state in which the lower left edge 61a and the rear left edge 62a, and the lower right edge 61b and the rear right edge 62b are joined together as described above.

[0028] The two conduit section panels 67, 68 have the same outer shape and constitute the upper wall section 54 and the lower wall section 55 of the conduit section 50, respectively.

[0029] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, when the inflator 17 is activated while the occupant MP is seated in the seat 1 mounted in the vehicle and wearing the seat belt 7, the inflation gas discharged from the inflator 17 flows into the bag body 26 through the conduit portion 50, and the bag body 26 of the airbag 25 ruptures the cover 22 and protrudes forward and upward from the lap belt 10, completing inflation as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 and in FIGS. 9 and 10.

[0030] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the occupant-side wall portion 37 that restrains the upper body MU of the occupant MP when the airbag 25 is fully inflated has a chest restraining region 47b that can restrain the chest MB of the occupant MP, which is configured to be narrower in width in the left-right direction than the head restraining region 47a as an upper region and the abdominal restraining region 47c as a lower region that are disposed on both the top and bottom sides (see FIG. 9). In other words, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, when the airbag 25 (bag main body 26) is fully inflated, the membrane length in a cross section taken along the left-right direction of the chest restraining region 47b is set shorter than the membrane lengths in cross sections taken along the left-right direction of each of the head restraining region 47a and the abdominal restraining region 47c. Therefore, when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, the chest restraining region 47b is positioned so as to be partially recessed relative to the head restraining region 47a and the abdominal restraining region 47c. Therefore, compared to an airbag that inflates to have approximately the same diameter over the entire upper and lower areas, the contact area of ​​the airbag 25 with the chest MB at the time of completion of inflation can be reduced, and therefore, the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from pressing the chest MB more than necessary.

[0031] Therefore, the occupant protection device S of the embodiment can gently receive the chest MB of the occupant MP.

[0032] In particular, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the portion of the bag main body 26 at the time of full inflation that corresponds to the thoracic restraining region 47b is configured as a narrow width portion 28 that is narrower than the upper wide portion 29 that corresponds to the head restraining region 47a (upper portion) and the lower wide portion 30 that corresponds to the abdominal restraining region 47c (lower portion). That is, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the bag main body 26 itself at the time of full inflation is configured so that the width dimensions are partially different between the upper and lower portions. Furthermore, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the uneven shape of the bag main body 26 at the time of full inflation is configured by providing unevenness in corresponding edges (upper edge 61c, outer peripheral edge 65c) of the upper portion 61 and front panel 65 that constitute the occupant side panel 60, and by joining the corresponding edges (upper edge 61c, front edge 62c, outer peripheral edge 65c) of the occupant side panel 60 and the front panel 65 in a planar manner. Therefore, when the bag body 26 has completed inflation, the narrow width of the chest restraint area 47b relative to the head restraint area 47a and the abdominal restraint area 47c (the narrow width portion 28 is recessed on the left and right sides relative to the upper wide portion 29 and the lower wide portion 30) can be stably secured.

[0033] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the occupant-side wall portion 37 is configured to have a bent portion 40 disposed in the thoracic restraining region 47b, so that, at the completion of inflation, the head restraining region 47a as the upper portion protrudes toward the occupant MP relative to the abdominal restraining region 47c as the lower portion (see FIG. 10). Therefore, at the completion of inflation of the airbag 25, as shown in FIG. 11, the head restraining region 47a (upper portion) of the inflated bag main body 26 first comes into contact with the head MH or shoulders MS (head MH in the embodiment), thereby further preventing the inflated airbag 25 from pressing against the thorax MB. Specifically, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, a tuck portion 41 is provided in the thoracic restraining region 47b, so that the occupant-side wall portion 37 is bent, and the head restraining region 47a protrudes toward the occupant MP relative to the abdominal restraining region 47c. If such a point is not taken into consideration, the occupant-side wall portion may not be bent, and the upper portion (head restraining area) may not protrude relative to the lower portion (abdominal restraining area).

[0034] In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 is used as a holder for holding the airbag 25, but the holder for holding the airbag is not limited to the lap belt. For example, a holder separate from the seat belt may be provided and the airbag may be held in this holder. In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the airbag 25 is held in the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7. However, since the inflator 17 operates with a delay (approximately 5 ms) from the operation of the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7, the airbag 25 can be inflated while the seat belt 7 stably maintains the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, and the airbag 25 and the seat belt 7 can stably protect the occupant MP.

[0035] Furthermore, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the seat belt 7 and the inflator 17 are configured to be mounted on the seat 1. Therefore, even when the seat 1 is used in a state where it is moved relative to the vehicle by sliding it significantly forward and backward or rotating it, the occupant MP seated in the seat 1 can be adequately protected by the airbag 25. Of course, the occupant protection device of the present invention is not limited to a seat 1 configured as described above, and can also be mounted on a type of seat that restrains the occupant with a seat belt having a retractor provided on the vehicle body side. The inflator may also be configured to be attached to the vehicle body side. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1...seat, 7...seat belt, 10...lap belt (retainer), 17...inflator, 25...airbag, 26...bag body, 37...occupant side wall portion, 40...bending portion, 47...upper body restraint area, 47a...head restraint area (upper portion), 47b...thorax restraint area, 47c...abdominal restraint area (lower portion), MP...occupant, MU...upper body, MB...chest, S...occupant protection device.

Claims

[Claim 1] An occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat, an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored; a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of the waist of the occupant seated in the seat; an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag; The configuration is such that the airbag is configured to inflate so as to protrude from the holder by injecting inflation gas therein and to cover the front of the occupant, and is configured to include an occupant-side wall portion that is disposed on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper body of the occupant, The occupant side wall portion is The chest restraint region, which is disposed in a vertically intermediate position when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the chest of the occupant, is configured to be narrower on the left and right sides than the upper and lower regions disposed on both the upper and lower sides of the chest restraint region, and An occupant protection device characterized in that a bent portion is arranged in the chest restraint area so that, when inflation is complete, the upper portion protrudes toward the occupant relative to the lower portion.

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