Side airbag and side airbag device

Abstract

To provide a side airbag and a side airbag device that can restrain the shoulders and the head of an occupant by stable expansion behavior and suppress production costs.SOLUTION: A side airbag A comprises a first inflating part 1 that inflates and expands to sides of an occupant and a second inflating part 2 that inflates and expands obliquely downward from a middle part in a vertical direction of the first inflating part 1, to restrain the head of the occupant. The side airbag A is constituted of a first panel 10 and a second panel 20 larger than the first panel 10 which are sewn on each other. A circumferential edge of an upper part 11 of the first panel 10 and a circumferential edge of an upper part 21 of the second panel 20 are sewn on each other, and a circumferential edge of a lower part 12 of the first panel 10 and a circumferential edge of a lower part 22 of the second panel 20 are sewn on each other. The second panel 20 is folded back at an intermediate part 23 between the upper part 21 and the lower part 22, so that the circumferential edges in an overlapping region are sewn on each other.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a side airbag that inflates and deploys to the side of a vehicle occupant and a side airbag device. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 describes a side airbag that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant in the event of a side collision of a vehicle such as an automobile. The side airbag has a head chamber and a torso chamber connected by sewing, and the position of the sewing is adjusted to position the head chamber above the occupant's shoulder and beside the head. Because the side airbag in Patent Document 1 has a multi-chamber structure in which the head chamber and torso chamber are separate chambers, it requires a large number of cut parts (base fabric) and requires reinforcement of the sewing sections connecting the chambers, which increases production man-hours and increases costs. Furthermore, because gas from an inflator installed on the torso chamber side is supplied to the head chamber through an opening in the chamber joint, it is difficult to achieve the desired deployment behavior of the head chamber. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] U.S. Patent Application Publication No. 2021 / 0170978 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] An object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag that can restrain the shoulders and head of an occupant with stable deployment behavior and that can reduce production costs, and a side airbag device that has this side airbag. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] The side airbag of the present invention is a side airbag mounted on a side portion of a seatback toward the center in the vehicle width direction, and includes a first inflatable portion that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant, and a second inflatable portion that inflates and deploys diagonally downward from a vertically intermediate portion of the first inflatable portion to restrain the occupant's head. This side airbag is configured by sewing together a first panel and a second panel that is larger than the first panel, wherein the periphery of an upper portion of the first panel is sewn together with the periphery of an upper portion of the second panel, the periphery of a lower portion of the first panel is sewn together with the periphery of a lower portion of the second panel, the second panel is folded back at a middle portion between the upper and lower portions, and the peripheries of the overlapping regions are sewn together.

[0006] In one aspect of the present invention, the second inflatable portion is formed by an upper portion of the first panel and an upper portion of the second panel.

[0007] In one aspect of the present invention, the lower part of the first inflatable section is formed by the lower part of the first panel and the lower part of the second panel.

[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, an upper portion of the first inflatable portion is formed by a middle portion of the folded second panel.

[0009] The side airbag of the present invention comprises the airbag of the present invention and an inflator that inflates the airbag. [Effects of the Invention]

[0010] According to the present invention, the shoulders and head of an occupant can be restrained with a stable deployment behavior. Furthermore, since the number of base fabrics used is small, production costs can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a side airbag according to an embodiment. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a panel of the side airbag. [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a plan view of a panel of the side airbag. [Figure 4] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the side airbag in the middle of sewing. [Figure 5] 5A is a plan view showing a side airbag in the middle of sewing, and FIG. 5B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VB-VB in FIG. 5A. [Figure 6] FIG. 6A is a plan view of the side airbag, and FIG. 6B is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line VIB-VIB in FIG. 6A. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an inflated and deployed side airbag. [Figure 8] 8A and 8B are plan views of the side airbag. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an inflated and deployed side airbag. [Figure 10] FIG. 1 is a front view of a side airbag according to an embodiment. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0012] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following embodiments, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions of a vehicle unless otherwise specified. UP and CENTER in Fig. 1 indicate the upper direction and the center side of the vehicle width direction, respectively.

[0013] 1, 7 and 10 are diagrams showing an inflated state of a side airbag A according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 2 to 6 are explanatory diagrams showing a method for manufacturing the side airbag.

[0014] The side airbag device according to this embodiment is mounted on the side of the vehicle seat at the center in the vehicle width direction. In this embodiment, the seat is the left seat of the automobile, and the airbag device is mounted on the right side of the seat.

[0015] The seat includes a seat cushion, a seat back, and a headrest. The seat back has a seat back frame that serves as the framework of the seat back.

[0016] In this embodiment, the airbag device is attached to the seat back frame.

[0017] The airbag device includes a side airbag A that is folded and stored inside a seatback, and an inflator 5 that supplies inflation gas to the side airbag A (see FIG. 7).

[0018] The side airbag A has a first inflation section 1 that inflates and deploys to the side of the occupant P, and a second inflation section 2 that inflates and deploys obliquely downward toward the occupant P from a vertically intermediate portion of the first inflation section 1.

[0019] The inflated and deployed first inflation section 1 extends vertically and restrains the torso (from the shoulders to the waist) of the occupant P. The lower part of the first inflation section 1 is located between the waist of the occupant P and the console box C (see FIG. 10). The upper end of the first inflation section 1 is located at or above the head of the occupant P.

[0020] The second inflation section 2 inflates and deploys above the shoulders and to the side of the head of the occupant P, with its tip positioned next to the neck of the occupant P, and as shown in Figure 10, it receives the head that rotates in the event of a side collision of the vehicle, reduces the amount of head movement, and cushions the impact on the neck.

[0021] The side airbag A is produced by sewing together a first panel 10 shown in FIG. 2 and a second panel 20 shown in FIG.

[0022] The first panel 10 and the second panel 20 are substantially rectangular, with the second panel 20 being longer than the first panel 10 in the vertical direction.

[0023] The upper portion 11 of the first panel 10 and the upper portion 21 of the second panel 20 have the same shape and size. The lower portion 12 of the first panel 10 and the lower portion 22 of the second panel 20 have the same shape and size.

[0024] An intermediate portion 23 between the upper portion 21 and the lower portion 22 of the second panel 20 has a symmetrical shape with respect to a folding line L. As will be described later, when manufacturing the side airbag A, the second panel 20 is folded back at the folding line L. The extension direction of the folding line L in FIG. 3 corresponds to the front-to-rear direction of the inflated and deployed side airbag A.

[0025] In the middle portion 23, the region 23a above the fold line L and the region of the fold line 23b overlap each other so that when the second panel 20 is folded back at the fold line L, their side edges coincide with each other.

[0026] In manufacturing the side airbag A, first, as shown in FIG. 4, the first panel 10 is placed on the second panel 20, the upper portion 11 of the first panel 10 is overlapped with the upper portion 21 of the second panel 20, and the peripheral edges (upper and side edges) of the upper portion 11 and the peripheral edges (upper and side edges) of the upper portion 21 are sewn together with sewing thread 31.

[0027] Next, as shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the second panel 20 is folded back toward the first panel along the folding line L. By folding back the second panel 20, the position of the first panel 10 is lowered, and the lower portion 12 of the first panel 10 and the lower portion 22 of the second panel 20 overlap. In the example shown in Figures 5A and 5B, the first panel 10 is also folded back between the upper portion 11 and the lower portion 12.

[0028] 6A and 6B, the peripheral edges (bottom and side edges) of the lower portion 12 of the first panel 10 and the peripheral edges (bottom and side edges) of the lower portion 22 of the second panel 20 are sewn together with sewing thread 32. In addition, the side edges of region 23a and region 23b of the middle portion 23 of the second panel 20, which has been folded back along fold line L and overlapped, are sewn together with sewing thread 32. In this way, the bag-shaped airbag A is produced.

[0029] Thereafter, the inflator 5 is inserted into the side airbag A through an inflator insertion port (not shown) in the first panel 10. The inflator 5 is provided with a stud bolt, and the side airbag A is fixed to the seat back frame by the stud bolt that protrudes through a small hole (not shown) formed in the first panel 10.

[0030] When a vehicle equipped with an airbag device having the side airbag A configured in this way is hit in a side collision from the right side, the inflator 5 is activated and generates gas. This gas inflates the first inflation section 1 and also flows upward to inflate the second inflation section 2.

[0031] As shown in Figure 7, the lower part of the first inflatable section 1 is made up of the lower part 12 of the first panel 10 located on the occupant P side and the lower part 22 of the second panel 20 located on the opposite side to the occupant. The upper part of the first inflatable section 1 is made up of the middle part 23 of the second panel 20 folded back at the folding line L (the region 23a located on the occupant P side and the region 23b located on the opposite side to the occupant). The second inflatable section 2 is made up of the upper part 11 of the first panel 10 and the upper part 21 of the second panel 20.

[0032] The side airbag A has a single-chamber structure, which allows it to deploy more stably than a multi-chamber structure and restrain the shoulders and head of the occupant P. In addition, because it can be manufactured using two panels, the first panel 10 and the second panel 20, it is possible to reduce the number of steps and keep production costs down.

[0033] 8A and 8B, the central portion of the lower portion 12 of the first panel 10 and the central portion of the lower portion 22 of the second panel 20 may be sewn together in a circumferential manner with stitching thread 34, so that the area surrounded by stitching thread 34 becomes a non-inflatable portion 50. This makes it possible to adjust the stroke and volume of the side airbag A. FIG. 8B shows the state in which the upper portion 11 of the first panel 10 and the upper portion 21 of the second panel 20 are rolled up, as indicated by the arrows in FIG. 8A.

[0034] As shown in FIG. 9, a tether 4 may be provided in the side airbag A to connect the region 23a and the region 23b of the intermediate portion 23 of the second panel 20, thereby adjusting the stroke and capacity of the side airbag A.

[0035] The above-described embodiment shows one mode of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment. [Explanation of symbols]

[0036] 1 First expansion section 2 Second expansion section 4 Tether 5 Inflator 10 Panel 1 20 Panel 2

Claims

1. A side airbag mounted on a side portion of a seat back on the center side in the vehicle width direction, a first inflation section that inflates and deploys to the side of the occupant; a second inflation section that inflates and deploys obliquely downward from a vertically intermediate portion of the first inflation section to restrain the head of the occupant; Equipped with The garment is constructed by sewing together a first panel and a second panel that is larger than the first panel, an upper peripheral edge of the first panel and an upper peripheral edge of the second panel are sewn together; a lower peripheral edge of the first panel and a lower peripheral edge of the second panel are sewn together; the second panel is folded back at an intermediate portion between the upper and lower portions, and the peripheral edges of the overlapping area are sewn together; the second inflatable portion is constituted by an upper portion of the first panel and an upper portion of the second panel, a lower portion of the first inflatable portion is formed by a lower portion of the first panel and a lower portion of the second panel, an upper portion of the first inflation portion is formed by a middle portion of the folded second panel.

2. A side airbag device comprising: the side airbag of claim 1; and an inflator for inflating the side airbag.

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