JP2011011744A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To solve a problem in conventional technology wherein it is necessary to minimize a gap between a folded air bag outer circumference and an air bag housing chamber inner wall in regard to miniaturization of an air bag device of recent years, but a thick plate interferes with the folded air bag, the thick plate does not reproduce intended deformation, and there is risk that impact of an instrument panel will not be absorbed.SOLUTION: In the air bag device including a case wherein a front face is an opening, the air bag housed in the case and connected to the case, a gas generator supplying gas into the air bag to expand the air bag, and a grid covering the opening, the gas generator 9 is fixed to a bottom face of the case 1, a weak part 3 is formed straight along a side in a width direction of a vehicle in an occupant side of a vehicle body of the bottom face of the case 1 separated a predetermined dimension from a mounting part of the gas generator 9, and in the case 1, at the time of an instrument panel 4 collision, impact is applied to a vertical wall via a flange formed on the case 1, and it is deformed starting from the weak part 3.

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device that is installed in a vehicle and inflates and deploys to protect an occupant during a collision or the like.

Currently, passenger-seat airbags are already installed in a considerable number of commercial vehicles as a means of improving passenger collision safety.
By the way, an instrument panel of an automobile needs to have an impact absorbing function of gradually deforming and absorbing energy at the time of collision when an occupant hits it.
In other words, not only when the airbag needs to be deployed due to an accident, but also when the head or hand collides with the instrument panel where the airbag is installed, the airbag should be protected from excessive impact. A function of deforming the bag module side to absorb impact is required.
As a related art associated therewith, a case having a front opening, an airbag housed in the case and connected to the case, and a gas is supplied into the airbag to supply the airbag. In an airbag device having a gas generator for inflating the gas, a thick plate fixed to the side surface of the case, and a lid that covers the opening, at least a rear side portion of the thick plate is fixed to the side surface of the case, There is an airbag device (see, for example, Patent Document 1) in which a rear side portion of the thick plate and a case side surface portion fixed to the thick plate protrude outward.
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2001-63503 (see paragraphs {0017} to {0036} and FIGS. 1 to 7 in the claims section and the embodiments of the invention)

The conventional technology prevents the opening of the case from opening when the airbag deployment pressure is applied, and reduces the reaction force of the instrument panel impact when the airbag is not deployed.
This is because when the airbag deployment pressure is applied, opening of the mouth can be prevented by improving the rigidity of the thick plate. When the airbag is not deployed, the case is deformed by a thick plate to absorb energy.
Although not shown in the above publication, when the airbag is deployed, the case rotates around the lower bent portion of the thick plate, and the upper end of the thick plate is deformed while entering the airbag storage chamber (the above-mentioned reference). (See paragraph {0031} in the column of the embodiment of the invention of the document, FIG. 7).
However, in the downsizing of the airbag device that has been demanded in recent years, it is necessary to minimize the gap between the outer periphery of the folded airbag and the airbag housing inner wall of the case. The board interferes with the folded airbag and the plank does not reproduce the deformation as planned, and there is a risk that it will not absorb the instrument panel impact.

A first invention of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is an airbag device as described in claim 1, and is as follows.
A case whose front is an open port, an airbag housed in the case and connected to the case, a gas generator for supplying gas into the airbag and inflating the airbag; In the airbag device having a lid that covers the opening, a gas generator is fixed to the bottom surface of the case, and the vehicle on the passenger side of the vehicle body on the bottom surface of the case spaced apart from the mounting portion of the gas generator by a predetermined dimension A weak portion is formed straight along the side in the width direction of the case, and when the case collides with the instrument panel, an impact is applied to the standing wall via a flange formed on the case, and the weak portion is started as a starting point. It is the structure to do.

Since the airbag apparatus according to the present invention has the configuration as described above, the following effects are achieved.
(1) When the instrument panel collides, the case's standing wall does not buckle and deforms starting from the weak part of the bottom surface, so the shock is absorbed without interfering with the folded airbag during the shock absorption process. The setting condition of the weak part is that the gas generator is fixed on the bottom of the case and is set at a predetermined distance from the mounting part of the gas generator. It is.
(2) Since the direction of action in which the obstacle (occupant's head) collides collides so as to rotate around the occupant's waist, the weak part is formed along the side in the width direction of the vehicle. Generation of excessive reaction force can be prevented efficiently.
(3) Since the case can be molded simultaneously with the press molding, there is no increase in manufacturing cost.
(4) Since the substantially U-shaped portion, which is a weak portion, is plastically deformed to absorb energy, the reaction force characteristic curve can be made smooth.

It is a bottom view which shows one Example of the airbag apparatus of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the basic airbag apparatus of the airbag apparatus of this invention. It is a sectional side view which shows the impact-absorbing structure at the time of the instrument panel impact of the airbag apparatus of this invention. It is a principal part perspective view which shows what formed the weak part which is the Example of this invention into the U-shape process. It is principal part sectional drawing which shows having made the thin part into the weak part which is another Example. It is a sectional side view which shows the conventional shock absorption structure.

  A case whose front is an open port, an airbag housed in the case and connected to the case, a gas generator for supplying gas into the airbag and inflating the airbag; In the airbag device having a lid that covers the opening, a gas generator is fixed to the bottom surface of the case, and the vehicle on the passenger side of the vehicle body on the bottom surface of the case spaced apart from the mounting portion of the gas generator by a predetermined dimension A weak part is formed straight along the side in the width direction of the case, and when the case collides with the instrument panel, an impact is applied to the standing wall via a flange formed on the case, and the weak part is deformed as a starting point. It is the airbag apparatus which does.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a bottom view showing an embodiment of the airbag apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side sectional view showing a basic airbag apparatus of the airbag apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a side sectional view showing a shock absorbing structure at the time of impact on an instrument panel of the bag device, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a main part of a weak part which is an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a conventional shock absorbing structure, and FIG. 6 is a side sectional view showing a main part showing that the weak part which is the embodiment of FIG.

First, the features of an airbag apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
As shown in FIG. 1, weak portions such as a U-shaped process 7 and a thin-walled process 8 are provided on one side (the occupant side of the vehicle body) of the bottom surface portion of the case 1 of the airbag device. That is, the weak part 3 which is weak to an impact is made only on one side of the case 1 of the airbag device.
As can be understood from FIG. 1, in the present invention, when the head or arm of an occupant hits the instrument panel 4 by the weak part 3, the impact that returns to the head or arm hit by the weak part 3 is applied. Is absorbed by deformation (see FIG. 3).
This is to absorb the impact by deforming the weak part 3 on the bottom surface of the case 1 as shown in 5 (see FIG. 3).

Even in the conventional method, the impact of the airbag is absorbed in the same manner as in the present invention. However, when a large airbag 6 or a hard base fabric is placed in a small storage case as shown in FIG. Although the side portion tends to be deformed as shown by a dotted line, it is difficult to deform, and when it is further deformed, this deformation presses the airbag 6 and the shock absorption at the time of impact on the instrument panel is not sufficiently performed.
In the present invention, even an airbag device that does not function sufficiently with the prior art and can be stored in a smaller space can reliably absorb the impact on the instrument panel.

  Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the weak part is formed by the U-shaped process 7, or the weak part 3 is formed even if the thin-walled process 8 is performed, and the same effect can be obtained. Needless to say.

  In an airbag device incorporated in a vehicle and inflated and deployed at the time of a collision or the like, not only a passenger seat but also an airbag mounted on all seats and inner wall surfaces can be used.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 .... Case 3 .... Weak part 4 .... Instrument panel 5 .... Deformation of bottom of case 6 .... Air bag 7 .... U-shaped processing 8 .... Thin wall processing 9 ... Gas generator

Claims (1)

A case whose front is an open port, an airbag housed in the case and connected to the case, a gas generator for supplying gas into the airbag and inflating the airbag; In the airbag device having a lid that covers the opening, a gas generator is fixed to the bottom surface of the case, and the vehicle on the passenger side of the vehicle body on the bottom surface of the case spaced apart from the mounting portion of the gas generator by a predetermined dimension A weak part is formed straight along the side in the width direction of the case, and when the case collides with the instrument panel, an impact is applied to the standing wall via a flange formed on the case, and the weak part is deformed as a starting point. An airbag device characterized by:

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