Curtain airbag and curtain airbag device

Abstract

To provide a curtain airbag and a curtain airbag device that can reduce the volume of a folded body (package volume).SOLUTION: A curtain airbag according to the present embodiment deploys downward along a side surface inside a vehicle interior, and includes a main body part 10 and a gas introduction part 20 extending upward from an upper side of the main body part 10, wherein gas from an inflator 6 is introduced into the main body part 10 from a gas introduction part 20. The gas introduction part 20 is formed by folding back a pipe panel 3 that is separate from main panels 1, 2 constituting the main body part 10 and joining side edges 31a, 31b together. A lower portion of the gas introduction part 20 made of a folded-back portion of the pipe panel 3 is disposed within the main body part 10, and the gas is introduced into the main body part 10 through a front opening and a rear opening of the folded-back portion.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a curtain airbag that deploys downward along a side surface inside a vehicle cabin, and to a curtain airbag device that includes this curtain airbag. [Background technology]

[0002] In the event of a side collision or rollover, a vehicle equipped with a curtain airbag inflates downward along the side of the vehicle interior, such as along the doors and pillars.

[0003] Patent Document 1 describes a curtain airbag that includes a shielding main body that covers the interior side of a vehicle window, and a connection port that has an opening for inserting an inflator at the upper end and allows inflation gas from the inflator to flow into the shielding main body.

[0004] In the curtain airbag described in Patent Document 1, the connection port is separate from the shielding body, and an inner tube and diffuser fabric for controlling the inflow direction of inflation gas are disposed within the connection port. Around the opening through which inflation gas flows into the shielding body, multiple panels, including the connection port material, inner tube material, and diffuser fabric, are folded over, increasing the packaging volume. This could potentially deform the vehicle's ceiling material when stored, thereby damaging the appearance. Therefore, there is a need to reduce the packaging volume around the opening and improve storage ease. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 5131133 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] An object of the present invention is to provide a curtain airbag and a curtain airbag device that can reduce the volume of the folded body (package volume). [Means for solving the problem]

[0007] The curtain airbag of the present invention is a curtain airbag that deploys downward along the side of the vehicle cabin and comprises a main body and a gas inlet extending upward from the upper edge of the main body, and gas from an inflator is introduced into the main body from the gas inlet, and the gas inlet is formed by folding back a pipe panel that is separate from the main panel that constitutes the main body and joining its side edges, and the lower part of the gas inlet, which is made up of the folded back part of the pipe panel, is positioned within the main body, and gas is introduced into the main body through a front opening and a rear opening of the folded back part.

[0008] In one aspect of the present invention, the pipe panel is folded back and the overlapping side edges are joined together, and this side edge joint is located above the upper side of the main body portion.

[0009] In one aspect of the present invention, the main body portion has a first main panel and a second main panel that are overlapped, and one half of the folded pipe panel is joined to the first main panel, and the other half of the pipe panel is joined to the second main panel.

[0010] In one aspect of the present invention, the joint portions between the pipe panel and the first and second main panels extend parallel to the upper sides of the first and second main panels.

[0011] The curtain airbag of the present invention comprises the curtain airbag of the present invention and an inflator that inflates the curtain airbag. [Effects of the Invention]

[0012] According to the present invention, the volume (package volume) of the folded curtain airbag can be reduced. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0013] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a side view of the curtain airbag according to the embodiment before inflation. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the first main panel. [Figure 3] FIG. 10 is a plan view of the second main panel. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a plan view of the pipe panel. [Figure 5] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a folded pipe panel. [Figure 6] 10A and 10B are diagrams illustrating the joining of the pipe panel with the first and second main panels. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the curtain airbag in the middle of sewing. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is a plan view showing the curtain airbag in the middle of sewing. [Figure 9] FIG. 2 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX in FIG. [Figure 10] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a gas inlet according to a modified example. [Figure 11] FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a gas inlet according to a modified example. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0014] A curtain airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Figs. 1 to 9. In the following description, the front-rear direction and the up-down direction respectively correspond to the front-rear direction and the up-down direction of the vehicle when the curtain airbag is installed in the vehicle. In Fig. 1, the left side is the front of the vehicle and the right side is the rear of the vehicle. In Fig. 1, the curtain airbag is in a flat, unfolded state.

[0015] As shown in Fig. 1, a cylindrical gas introduction part 20 extends upward and diagonally rearward from the longitudinal center of the upper edge of the main body 10 of the curtain airbag. An inflator 6 is inserted into the tip of this gas introduction part 20 and is bound with a band (not shown). The inflator 6 is fixed to the roof side of the vehicle body with a mounting member (not shown).

[0016] The lower part of the gas introduction part 20 is disposed inside the main body part 10 and divides the gas from the inflator 6 into the front and rear of the main body part 10 .

[0017] The main body 10 is formed by overlapping and joining a first main panel 1 shown in Fig. 2 and a second main panel 2 shown in Fig. 3. The first main panel 1 has a narrow portion 1a that is narrow in the vertical direction slightly behind the center in the front-to-rear direction. The maximum width (in the vertical direction) of the first wide portion forward of the narrow portion 1a is greater than the maximum width of the second wide portion rearward of the narrow portion 1a.

[0018] The second main panel 2 is generally rectangular in shape, with the longitudinal direction being the front-to-rear direction. The vertical width of the second main panel 2 is approximately the same as the maximum width of the first wide portion of the first main panel 1. The front-to-rear length of the first main panel 1 and the front-to-rear length of the second main panel 2 are also approximately the same.

[0019] The gas inlet portion 20 of the curtain airbag is formed using a substantially V-shaped pipe panel 3 as shown in FIGS.

[0020] The pipe panel 3 has an axisymmetric shape in which one half region 3a and the other half region 3b overlap perfectly when folded (folded) along the folding line L. As shown in Fig. 5, the pipe panel 3 is attached to the main body 10 in a folded state along the folding line L.

[0021] When the pipe panel 3 is laid out flat, one end of the side edges 33a, 33b are connected to each other along the folding line L, forming a V-shaped recess toward the center of the panel. As shown in Figure 5, when the pipe panel 3 is folded along the folding line L, the space between the side edges 33a, 33b becomes a gas inlet port for introducing gas toward the rear of the main body 10.

[0022] 5, side edges 34a, 34b extend rearward and upward and are connected to the other ends of side edges 33a, 33b. Side edges 34a, 34b have notches recessed toward the front of the vehicle in the middle thereof.

[0023] The rear ends (upper ends) of the side edges 34a, 43b are connected to one end of the side edges 32a, 32b that form the inflator insertion port. The other ends of the side edges 32a, 32b are connected to the side edges 31a, 31b (upper edges) that extend forward and downward.

[0024] One end of each of the side edges 30a and 30b extending downward is connected to the front ends of the side edges 31a and 31b. The other ends of the side edges 30a and 30b are connected to each other along a folding line L. A gas inlet is formed between the side edges 30a and 30b to introduce gas toward the front of the main body 10. As shown in FIG. 4, the side edges 30a and 30b form recesses that are curved in a substantially arc shape when the pipe panel 3 is unfolded.

[0025] 6 to 8, region 3a of pipe panel 3 folded back along folding line L is joined to the first main panel 1 by a linear joint 60, and region 3b is joined to the second main panel 2 by a linear joint 61. In this embodiment, the joints airtightly join the panels together and are formed by strong joining means (for example, sewing with high-strength sewing thread or bonding with a highly adhesive adhesive) that will not separate the panels even if the internal pressure of the curtain airbag rises to a predetermined upper limit pressure.

[0026] For example, the folding line L is made to be approximately parallel to the upper edges of the first main panel 1 and the second main panel 2. The pipe panel 3 is joined to the first main panel 1 and the second main panel 2 at a position lower than the side edges 31a, 31b of the pipe panel 3 folded along the folding line L and higher than the side edges 30a, 30b, 33a, 33b.

[0027] Linear joints 60, 61 are parallel to the upper sides of first main panel 1 and second main panel 2. Side edges 31a, 31b (upper edges) are located above the upper sides of first main panel 1 and second main panel 2.

[0028] Next, the first main panel 1 and the second main panel 2 to which the pipe panel 3 has been joined are overlapped, and as shown in FIG. 1, the panels are joined together at the linear joints 40 to 44 and the annular joints 51 to 53.

[0029] The linear joint 40 is a peripheral joint that extends approximately around the main body 10. The linear joint 40 joins the first region 3a and the second region 3b along the side edges 31a, 31b of the pipe panel 3. The linear joint 40 also joins the first region 3a and the second region 3b along the side edges 34a, 34b of the pipe panel 3. As a result, the pipe panel 3 becomes a cylindrical gas inlet section 20.

[0030] The linear joint 40 is terminated at the side edges 32a and 32b of the pipe panel 3, thereby forming an inflator insertion port.

[0031] On the front side of the folded portion of the pipe panel 3, the side edges 30a, 30b are not joined, forming an opening for introducing gas into the main body 10. Similarly, on the rear side of the folded portion of the pipe panel 3, the side edges 33a, 33b are not joined, forming an opening for introducing gas into the main body 10.

[0032] This curtain airbag is folded into a long and narrow shape so as to extend in the front-to-rear direction of the vehicle body.

[0033] When a vehicle equipped with a curtain airbag device configured in this manner collides or rolls over, the inflator 6 is activated and gas is supplied from the inflator 6 into the main body 10, causing the main body 10 to begin to inflate. The curtain airbag pushes open the roof garnish and deploys downward along the side of the vehicle interior.

[0034] The gas ejected from the inflator 6 is divided into a front flow and a rear flow by the gas introduction section 20.

[0035] The lower part (bottom) of the gas inlet part 20 is subjected to a load from the gas ejected from the inflator 6. In this embodiment, as shown in Fig. 9, the lower part of the gas inlet part 20 is the folded-back part of the pipe panel 3. Therefore, compared to a configuration with a seam at the bottom, durability can be improved by the strength of the base fabric.

[0036] Furthermore, since the single pipe panel 3 is configured from the insertion port of the inflator 6 to the gas distribution, the volume (package volume) of the folded curtain airbag can be reduced.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 10, reinforcing patch panels 71 and 72 may be joined by joining parts 70 near the gas inlet parts 20 on the outer surfaces of the first main panel 1 and the second main panel 2.

[0038] As shown in Figure 11, the pipe panel 3 may be doubled. In this case, the inner pipe panel 3 is not joined to the first main panel 1 and the second main panel 2 by linear joining portions 60, 61, thereby improving the strength of the base fabric.

[0039] In the above embodiment, the main body 10 of the curtain airbag may be configured using two main panels of the same shape, or the main body 10 may be formed by folding back one main panel and sewing the peripheral edges.

[0040] 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]

[0041] 1. Main Panel 1 2 Second Main Panel 3 Pipe Panel 6 Inflator 10 Main body 20 Gas inlet

Claims

1. A curtain airbag that deploys downward along a side surface of a vehicle cabin and includes a main body and a gas inlet that extends upward from an upper edge of the main body, and gas from an inflator is introduced into the main body from the gas inlet, the gas inlet section is formed by folding back a pipe panel that is separate from the main panel that constitutes the body section and joining the side edges together, a lower portion of the gas inlet portion formed by the folded portion of the pipe panel is disposed within the main body portion, and gas is introduced into the main body portion through a front opening and a rear opening of the folded portion; the main body portion has a first main panel and a second main panel that are overlapped with each other; One half of the folded pipe panel is joined to the first main panel, and the other half of the pipe panel is joined to the second main panel, a coupling portion between the pipe panel and the first main panel and the second main panel extends parallel to upper sides of the first main panel and the second main panel.

2. 2. The curtain airbag according to claim 1, wherein the pipe panel is folded back and overlapped at its side edges joined together, and the joined side edges are positioned above the upper side of the main body.

3. 3. An airbag device comprising the airbag of claim 1 or 2 and an inflator for inflating the airbag.

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