Airbag unit on a steering arrangement of a sit-on vehicle

Abstract

A sit-on vehicle having a steering arrangement is described. This steering arrangement comprises a left handle grip (32a) and a right handle grip (32b), a structural element (34) connecting the left handle grip (32a) and the right handle grip (32b), and an airbag unit being attached to the structural element (34). This airbag unit comprises an airbag (42), an inflator (44) being in fluid communication with the airbag (42), and an accommodation unit accommodating the airbag (42). The accommodation unit comprises a deployment opening (69) through which the airbag (42) deploys when filled by gas from the inflator (44), and a base element (50) at which the airbag (42) and the inflator (44) are held at least indirectly. The steering arrangement further comprises a cover element comprising a cover (62) covering at least the deployment opening (69) and comprising a door arrangement with at least one door (63a, 63b) in front of the deployment opening (69). This cover (62) comprises an upper wall section and a rear wall section and at least a part of the deployment opening (69) faces the upper wall section. Further, a cladding element (70) covering a part of the structural element (34) and extending from a left end to a right end and having an upper wall section (70b) and a rear wall section (70a) is provided. This cladding element has an opening (72) conforming to the shape of the cover (62), such that the cladding element (70) and the cover (62) form a covering structure (S) having an upper wall section and a rear wall section. The steering arrangement provides a good protection for the rider by the airbag and by the covering structure. Further, a good weather protection for the airbag is provided.

Description

[0001] Sit-on vehicle, steering arrangement for a sit-on vehicle and airbag unit for a steering arrangement

[0002] Description

[0003] The invention relates to a sit-on vehicle according to claim 1 , to a steering arrangement for such a sit-on vehicle according to claim 12 and to an airbag unit for such a steering arrangement according to claim 13.

[0004] A sit-on vehicle of the generic type always comprises a first part carrying at least one rear wheel and a second part being attached to the first part in a swiveling manner and carrying at least one front wheel. The invention relates in the first place to scooter-type sit-on vehicles having a step-through design, but is not limited to such scooter type sit- on vehicles. In general, the application can be applied to all types of sit-on vehicles including trikes, quads, and “classic” motorcycles and could at least in principle also be applied to bicycles and e-bikes.

[0005] The second part of such a sit-on vehicle which is attached to the first part in a swiveling manner and which carries at least one front wheel always has a steering arrangement forming its upper end. This steering arrangement always comprises a left handle grip and a right handle grip being connected to one another by a structural element.

[0006] It has been proposed in the prior art to include an airbag unit in the steering arrangement in order to protect the driver during an accident, especially a frontal crash. Such an airbag unit always comprises an airbag, an inflator and an accommodation unit for the airbag, wherein this accommodation unit has a deployment opening.

[0007] Starting from this prior art, the invention sets itself the task to provide a sit-on vehicle with such a steering arrangement including an airbag unit in such a way that the steering arrangement is easy to manufacture, provides a good weather protection for the airbag unit, provides a good deployment behavior for the airbag and can be designed in an aesthetically pleasing manner. This task is solved by a sit-on vehicle comprising a steering arrangement according to claim 1 .

[0008] A steering arrangement for such a sit-on vehicle is defined in claim 12 and an airbag unit adapted for being used in such a steering arrangement is defined in claim 13.

[0009] One aspect of the invention is to provide an airbag unit whose airbag deploys at least in an initial deployment phase essentially upwards, such that there is no risk that the deploying airbag gets stuck between a body part of the rider and a part of the vehicle. This means that the deployment opening of the accommodation unit of the airbag unit points essentially upwards.

[0010] The basic idea is to provide a covering structure which covers at least the part of the structural element and parts of an airbag unit being attached to the structural element, especially the deployment opening of the accommodation unit. This covering structure is comprised of a cladding element and a cover being a part of a cover element of the airbag unit. The cladding element extends from the left end (which is usually adjacent to the left handlebar) to the right end (which is usually adjacent to the right handlebar) and comprises an opening which conforms to the shape of the cover of the cover element of the airbag unit, such that the covering structure is comprised of this cladding element and the cover of the cover element. Both, the cladding element and the cover have an upper wall section and a rear wall section. Because of the chosen geometry, at least a part of the deployment opening, preferably the major part - more than 70% of the deployment opening - faces the upper wall section of the cover. Providing such a covering structure has the advantage that the whole airbag module can be manufactured independently from the cladding element. Of course, there is a border between the cover and the cladding element and even if the tolerances are low such that no real gap between those parts is provided and / or additional sealing measures are taken, it could be a problem if rain water remains over a longer period in the border area. By the shape of the covering structure, this is prevented since this border between the cover and the cladding extends from the upper wall section - which might be orientated essentially horizontal - into the rear wall section which is never orientated horizontally. So, the sit-on vehicle according to the invention comprises a first part carrying at least one rear wheel at least indirectly, and a second part being attached to the first part in a swiveling manner and carrying at least one front wheel. The second part comprises a steering arrangement forming the upper end of the second part and this steering arrangement comprises: a left handle grip and a right handle grip, a structural element connecting the left handle grip and the right handle grip, an airbag unit being attached to the structural element, said airbag unit comprising an airbag, an inflator being in fluid communication with the airbag, an accommodation unit accommodating the airbag, said accommodation unit comprising a deployment opening through which the airbag deploys when filled by gas from the inflator, wherein the accommodation unit comprises a base element at which the airbag and the inflator are held at least indirectly, and a cover element comprising a cover covering at least the deployment opening and comprising a door arrangement with at least one door in front of the deployment opening, said cover comprising an upper wall section and a rear wall section, wherein at least a part of the deployment opening faces the upper wall section, and a cladding element covering a part of the structural element and extending from a left end to a right end and having an upper wall section and a rear wall section, said cladding element having an opening conforming to the shape of the cover, such that the cladding element and the cover form a covering structure having an upper wall section and a rear wall section.

[0011] In order to fully protect the airbag and the inflator from weather conditions, it is preferred that the covering structure is a part of enclosing arrangement enclosing at least a part of the structural element and at least a part of the airbag unit. This enclosing arrangement usually comprises at least one lower covering element which is initially a separate part in order to ease the assembly process.

[0012] Since the structural element is usually a rigid part, for example being made of steel, it is often preferred that the upper wall section of the covering structure extends along at least 80 % of the distance between the left handle grip and the right handle grip in order to protect the rider from hitting the structural element during an accident, for example after the airbag has lost its pressure (double impact scenario).

[0013] In a preferred embodiment, the upper wall section of the covering structure is essentially flat and extends in a first plane, the rear wall section of the covering structure is essentially flat and extends in a second plane, and the first plane and the second plane enclose an angle between 80° and 130°. This makes a space-saving geometry with the covering structure being close to the structural element possible. But in other embodiments, the surface of the covering structure may have a more curved or rounded shape.

[0014] In order to further enhance the “dewatering properties” of the covering structure, it can be preferred that it further comprises a front wall section extending from the upper wall section, such that at least a middle part of the covering structure has a U-shaped crosssection, especially in such a way that both, the cover and the cladding element have a front wall section.

[0015] In order to reduce the number of parts and thus the number of gaps between parts, it will often be preferred to design the cladding element, especially its rear wall, its upper wall and (if present) its front wall as a single part. But in some embodiments, it would also be possible to provide more than one part, for example a left part and a right part.

[0016] In order to prevent that the deploying airbag gets stuck at the cover, it is often preferred that the cover element further comprises an inner wall extending from the cover and being attached to the base element, such that the base element and this inner wall define the accommodation unit and the upper end of the inner wall defines the deployment opening. In other embodiments it is conceivable (although often less preferred) that the base element comprises a long side wall that extends close to the cover such that the base element alone forms the accommodation unit and the upper end of its side wall defines the deployment opening.

[0017] Even though the inflator is usually located inside the enclosing arrangement, it can be preferred to additionally protect its connector plug by a protection cap.

[0018] A preferred embodiment of the sit-on vehicle according to the invention is a scootertype sit-on vehicle that has a step-through design and I or comprises a foot-rest.

[0019] The invention will now be described in more detail by means of preferred embodiments in view of the figures. The figures show:

[0020] Figure 1 a schematic side view onto a sit-on vehicle in form of a motor scooter,

[0021] Figure 2 a cross sectional representation of a sub-component of a steering arrangement of a sit-on vehicle, comprising a structural element and two handle grips being carried by this structural element,

[0022] Figure 3 parts of an airbag unit in a representation according to Figure 1 ,

[0023] Figure 4 a cover element forming a further part of an airbag unit in a representation according to Figure 3,

[0024] Figure 4a a side view onto the cover element from direction R1 in Figure 4,

[0025] Figure 5 a cladding element in a representation according to Figures 2 to 4,

[0026] Figure 5a the cladding element of Figure 5 in a side view from direction R2 in Figure 5,

[0027] Figure 6 two lower covering elements in a representation according to Figure 5, Figure 6a a side view onto the right lower covering element of Figure 6 from direction R3 in Figure 6,

[0028] Figure 6b a bottom view onto the right lower covering element from direction R4 in Figure 6,

[0029] Figure 7 all parts of the airbag unit shown in Figures 3 and 4 and an ignitor plug being located inside a sealing cap, in a non-assembled state,

[0030] Figure 7a an alternative embodiment of the parts shown in Figure 7,

[0031] Figure 8 the elements shown in Figure 7 in an assembled state such that the airbag unit is formed and the ignitor plug and the sealing cap are attached to inflator of the airbag unit,

[0032] Figure 9 the part shown in Figure 2 and the airbag unit with ignitor plug shown in Figure 8 being mounted to the structural element,

[0033] Figure 10 the sub-assembly shown in Figure 9 after the lower covering elements of Figure 6 have been attached to the structural element,

[0034] Figure 11 the sub-assembly shown in Figure 10 after the cladding element of Figure 5 has been attached to the structural element such that the steering arrangement is finished,

[0035] Figure 12 a schematic perspective view onto the covering structure being defined by the cladding element and the cover with hidden hinges and split lines of a door structure of the cover being shown,

[0036] Figure 13 the complete steering arrangement in a more detailed representation in a view similar to the one of Figure 12, and Figure 14 the steering arrangement of Figure 13 in a view essentially like seen from the driver with an alternative door structure being shown.

[0037] The invention will now be described in detail by means of a steering arrangement being a part of a sit-on vehicle 5, namely a motor scooter as is shown in Figure 1 . Such a motor scooter is a preferred embodiment of the invention but not the only one conceivable. In principle, the invention can be applied to all kinds of vehicles having two handle grips.

[0038] Such a sit-on vehicle 5 (here the motor scooter) has a first part 10 which carries a rear wheel 12 at least indirectly and comprises a seat 14. A second part 20 is attached to the first part in a swiveling manner and carries a front wheel 22 and further comprises a steering arrangement 30. This steering arrangement 30 has two handle grips, wherein the left handle grip 32a is shown in Figure 1 . The sit-on vehicle extends (in terms of a forward driving direction) from a rear end to a front end. “Front” and “rear” are in the following used within this definition. Further, the terms “upper” and “lower” are used within their natural meaning with the sit-on vehicle standing on an essentially horizontal plane.

[0039] An embodiment of this steering arrangement 30 is now described in view of Figures 2 to 12 with most of the Figures being strictly schematic. By choosing a very schematic representation, it is believed that the inventive structure of this steering arrangement 30 can best be seen.

[0040] First, the components of this steering arrangement 30 are shown in Figure 2 to 6b and then, a possible assembly process for assembling the steering arrangement from those components is described.

[0041] Figure 2 shows a first component of the steering arrangement 30 that substantially forms the skeleton of the same. This component comprises a structural element 34 having a left handlebar section 35a carrying a left handle grip 32a and a right handlebar section 35b carrying a right handle grip 32b. Those two handle grips 32a and 32b are connected by a middle part comprising a mounting structure 36 for an airbag unit. A rod 38 being in a mounted state attached to the first part 10 of the sit-on vehicle 5 by means of a bearing (not shown) extends from the structural element 34.

[0042] Figure 3 shows parts of an airbag unit designed for being attached to mounting structure 36. Those parts comprise an airbag 42, a base element (often referred to as “housing”) 50 and an inflator 44. In the assembled state, the airbag 42 is attached to the base element 50 - for example by means of the inflator flange 45 as it is generally known in the field of airbag units. The airbag package can be enclosed by a tearable wrapping (not shown in the drawings).

[0043] The base element 50 comprises a bottom wall 52, which shows mounting sections 52a for attaching this base element 50 to the structural element 34, for example by means of screws or the like (not shown in details). Other types of mounting means for fastening the base element to the mounting structure could of course be provided (please see below, Figure 7a). Further, the base element 50 comprises a side wall 54 extending from the bottom wall 52. The side wall 54 is in this embodiment comprised of four sections, but other geometrical configurations are conceivable. In any case, the side wall 54 of the accommodation unit is open at its top end. Other embodiments might not have a sidewall or only a very short one.

[0044] Figures 4 and 4a shows a cover element 60 of the airbag unit being designed for being attached to the base element 50 shown in Figure 3. This cover element 60 comprises a cover 62 having a rear wall section 62a, an upper wall section 62b and a front wall section 62c. In the schematic representation, those sections 62a to 62c are strictly planner and arranged in a perpendicular arrangement, but this is only to be understood as being schematic. As will be shown later, the cover element 60 comprises a door arrangement which is at least partially located in the upper wall section 62b.

[0045] The cover element 60 further comprises an inner wall 66 extending from the cover 62, mainly from its upper wall section, and conforming essentially to the side wall 54 of the base element. Attachment means, for example attachment means of the snapping type, can be provided at the side wall 54 of the accommodation unit and the inner wall 66 of the cover element 60, but are not shown in Figures 3 and 4. The inner wall 66 and the base element 50 define the accommodation unit for the airbag and the upper end of the inner wall defines its deployment opening 69.

[0046] In the embodiment shown, this door arrangement also extends from the upper wall section 62b into the rear wall section 62a (this will be shown later) and for this reason, the inner wall 66 widens at its upper end towards this rear wall section 62a.

[0047] The cover element is usually a one-pieced plastic part, wherein “one-pieced” includes the possibility that it has more than one layer being in adhesive bond.

[0048] Figures 5 and 5a shows a cladding element 70 being adapted for being mounted to the structural element 34 and comprising a rear wall section 70a, an upper wall section 70b and a front wall section 70c. Further, two side wall sections 74a and 74b are provided, each having a recess 75 for receiving a section of a handlebar section. It is possible - and often preferred - to provide fastening means at the sidewall sections 74a, 74b for fastening the cladding element 70 to the structural element 34, especially its handlebar sections 35a, 35b. The cladding element 70, namely its rear wall 70a, its upper wall 70b and its front wall 70c comprises an opening 72 conforming to the shape of the cover 62 of the cover element 60. Although not shown in the embodiment of Figure 5, the upper wall section 70b and / or the rear wall section 70a and / or the front wall section 70c of the cladding element 70 may extend laterally over those sidewall sections 74d, 74e.

[0049] Figures 6, 6a and 6b show lower covering elements 80, 80' also being designed for being attached to the structural element 34 in order to define an enclosing arrangement together with the cladding element 70 and the cover 62. In the embodiment shown, the lower covering elements 80, 80' each comprise a bottom wall 82, 82' and a side wall 84, 84' each having a recess for receiving a part of a handlebar section or the rod 38. It is usually preferred that at least one lower covering element is present, such that this at least one lower covering element, the cladding element and the cover essentially define an enclosing arrangement in which the accommodation unit, the inflator and the airbag of the airbag unit are located. It is possible to fasten both, the lower covering elements 80, 80’ and the cladding element 70 to the structural element 34, or to fasten, for example, only the lower covering elements 80, 80’ to the structural element and to fasten the cladding element 70 to the lower covering elements 80, 80’.

[0050] Usually connecting means acting between the elements of the enclosing arrangement and / or sealings between those elements are provided but not shown in detail in the drawings. The connecting means can especially be in form of snapping connections and / or can comprise screws, rivets or the like. If sealings are used, and it is especially useful to apply at least one sealing between the cladding element 70 and the cover, such a sealing could be pre-formed onto or attached to at least one of those elements, or it could be applied in a subsequent manufacturing step, for example by applying a silicone seal.

[0051] The assembly of the steering arrangement is now described by means of a possible assembly process.

[0052] In Figure 7, all parts of the airbag unit shown in Figures 3 and 4 and an ignitor plug being located inside a sealing cap are shown in a non-assembled state,

[0053] In a first initial step, the elements of the airbag unit shown in Figure 7 are assembled to form the airbag unit shown in Figure 8. The base element 50 and the inner wall 66 of the cover element form the accommodation unit whose deployment opening is initially closed by the cover 62, essentially by its door arrangement.

[0054] Figure 7a shows the same items as Figure 7, but in a slightly different embodiment and in a more detailed representation. Here, the lower part of the inner wall 66 is located inside the side wall 54 of the base element 50 and is connected to the bottom wall 52 of the base element by means of snap-in elements 68. The base element 50 shows mounting studs 56, and a separate mounting flange 46 for the airbag and the inflator is provided. After this assembly step, the airbag unit 40 is completely assembled (Fig. 8) and can in this condition be mounted to the mounting structure 36 of the structural element 34. An ignition connector can be connected to a connector plug of the inflator 44 and it can be preferred to encapsulate those elements by a sealing cap 48 (shown in Figures 8 and 9).

[0055] Next, the lower covering elements 80 and 80' are mounted to the structural element 34 (please see Figure 10) and finally the cladding element 70 is mounted. The mounting process of the steering arrangement is now finished and the outcome of this is schematically shown in Figure 1 1 . As has already been mentioned, the lower covering elements 80 and 80', the cladding 70 and the cover of the cover element form an enclosing arrangement.

[0056] Then the mounting process is finished, the opening 72 of the cladding element 70 is closed by the cover 62 such that the cladding element 70 and the cover 62 form a covering structure S as is schematically shown in Figure 12. This covering structure comprises a rear wall section R and an upper wall section U, wherein it is preferred that the rear wall section 62a of the cover 62 flushes with the rear wall section 70a of the cladding element 70 and the upper wall section 62b of the cover 62 flushes with the upper wall section 70b of the cladding element 70.

[0057] As has already mentioned, the cover of the cover element 60 comprises a door arrangement comprising at least one door 63a, 64b which covers at least a part of the deployment opening 69 of the accommodation unit 50. At least a part of this door arrangement (usually its major part) is located in the upper wall section 62b of the cover 62, but it can often be preferred that the door arrangement also extends into the rear wall section 62a. The door arrangement comprises of course at least one door 63a, 63b and a split line 64 encircling at least a part of this at least one door. Since it is usually preferred that the door does not separate completely from the remaining cover, at least one hinge 65 is also provided. Hinges and split lines are, as is generally known, usually embodied as grooves in the inner surface of the cover. In the embodiment shown in Figure 12, the door arrangement comprises two doors 64a and 64b. Figure 13 show still schematic, but a far more detailed view of a steering arrangement 30, wherein the transition between the upper wall section U and the rear wall section R of the covering structure S is shown in a dotted line as in Figure 12. This transition does not need to be a hard edge; it can for example be rounded.

[0058] Figure 14 shows the steering arrangement of Figure 13 with an alternative configuration of the door arrangement having four doors 63a to 63d.

[0059] One can see that an easy to assemble steering arrangement is provided which gives the rider good protection by an airbag and a covering structure that covers the structural element.

[0060] List of reference numbers

[0061] 5 sit-on vehicle

[0062] 10 first part

[0063] 12 rear wheel

[0064] 14 seat

[0065] 20 second part

[0066] 22 front wheel

[0067] 30 steering arrangement

[0068] 32a left handle grip

[0069] 32b right handle grip

[0070] 34 structural element

[0071] 35a, b handlebar section

[0072] 36 mounting structure for airbag module

[0073] 38 rod

[0074] 40 airbag unit

[0075] 42 airbag

[0076] 44 inflator

[0077] 45 inflator flange

[0078] 46 mounting flange

[0079] 48 sealing cap

[0080] 50 base element

[0081] 52 bottom wall of base element

[0082] 54 side wall of base element

[0083] 56 mounting stud

[0084] 60 cover element

[0085] 62 cover

[0086] 62a rear wall section of cover

[0087] 62b upper wall section of cover

[0088] 62c front wall section of cover

[0089] 63a - 63d door

[0090] 64 split-line

[0091] 65 hinge

[0092] 66 inner wall 66a rear wall section of inner wall

[0093] 66b, c side wall sections of inner wall

[0094] 66d front wall section of inner wall

[0095] 68 snap-in elements

[0096] 69 deployment opening

[0097] 70 cladding element

[0098] 70a rear wall section of cladding element

[0099] 70b upper wall section of cladding element

[0100] 70c front wall section of cladding element

[0101] 72 opening

[0102] 74a, b side wall sections of cladding element

[0103] 75 recess for handle bar section of structural element

[0104] 80, 80’ lower covering element

[0105] 82, 82’ bottom wall

[0106] 84, 84’ side wall

[0107] S covering structure

[0108] U upper wall section of covering structure

[0109] R rear wall section of covering structure

Claims

Claims1 . A sit-on vehicle (5) extending from a front end to a rear end, said sit-on vehicle comprising: a first part (10) carrying at least one rear wheel (12) at least indirectly, and a second part (20) being attached to the first part (10) in a swiveling manner and carrying at least one front wheel (22), said second part (20) comprising a steering arrangement (30) forming the upper end of the second part (20), said steering arrangement (30) comprising: a left handle grip (32a) and a right handle grip (32b), a structural element (34) connecting the left handle grip (32a) and the right handle grip (32b), an airbag unit (40) being attached to the structural element (34), said airbag unit (40) comprising an airbag (42), an inflator (44) being in fluid communication with the airbag (42), an accommodation unit accommodating the airbag (42), said accommodation unit comprising a deployment opening (69) through which the airbag (42) deploys when filled by gas from the inflator (44), said accommodation unit comprising a base element (50) at which the airbag (42) and the inflator (44) are held at least indirectly, and a cover element (60) comprising a cover (62) covering at least the deployment opening (69) and comprising a door arrangement with at least one door (63a, 63b) in front of the deployment opening (69), said cover (62) comprising an upper wall section (62b) and a rear wall section (62a), wherein at least a part of the deployment opening (69) faces the upper wall section (62b), and a cladding element (70) covering a part of the structural element (34) and extending from a left end to a right end and having an upper wall section(70b) and a rear wall section (70a), said cladding element having an opening (72) conforming to the shape of the cover (62), such that the cladding element (70) and the cover (62) form a covering structure (S) having an upper wall section (U) and a rear wall section (R).

2. The sit-on vehicle of claim 1 , wherein the covering structure (S) is a part of an enclosing arrangement enclosing at least a part of the structural element (34) and at least a part of the airbag unit (40).

3. The sit-on vehicle of claim 2, wherein the enclosing arrangement further comprises at least one lower covering element (80, 80’).

4. The sit-on vehicle of at least one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper wall section (U) of the covering structure (S) extends along at least 60%, preferably along at least 80% of the distance between the left handle grip (32a) and the right handle grip (32b).

5. The sit-on vehicle of one of the preceding claims, wherein the upper wall section (U) of the covering structure (S) is essentially flat and extends in a first plane, the rear wall section of the covering structure is essentially flat and extends in a second plane, and the first plane and the second plane enclose an angle between 80° and 130°.

6. The sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the covering structure (S) further comprises a front wall section extending from the upper wall section (U), such that at least a middle part of the covering structure (S) has a U-shaped cross-section.

7. The sit-on vehicle of claim 6, wherein both, the cover and the cladding element have a front wall section.

8. The sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claim, wherein the cover element (60) further comprises an inner wall (66) extending from the cover (60) and being attached to the base element (50), such that the inner wall (66) and thebase element (50) define the accommodation unit having the deployment opening.

9. The sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the major part of the deployment opening (69), preferable the whole deployment opening (69) faces the upper wall section (62b),10. The sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claims further comprising a sealing cap covering a connector plug of the inflator.11 . The sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claims, wherein the sit-on vehicle is a motor scooter having a step-through design and / or a sit-on vehicle comprising a foot-rest.

12. A steering arrangement for a sit-on vehicle of any one of the preceding claims.

13. An airbag module being adapted for being a part of the steering arrangement of claim 12.

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