JP2008080919A - Occupant restraint device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To effectively restrain particularly a rear seat occupant by an airbag in the various kinds of collision forms in lateral side collision and in turnover of an automobile. <P>SOLUTION: The folded airbags 11 are stored in seat parts 3a on both sides of an occupant sitting position of a rear seat 3 as a rear seat air bag device 10 respectively. The airbags 11 receive an action signal upon detection of collision of the vehicle and are upwardly inflated/deployed at the both side positions of the sitting rear seat occupant as an approximately vertical wall-like airbag 16. A folded air bag 21 is stored at a lower part of a center pillar as a rear seat occupant front side airbag device 20. The airbag 21 receives an action signal in collision, is projected from a cleavage opening 7 at a lower part of the center pillar B to a rear side of a head rest 2b of a front seat, and is inflated/deployed as an airbag 26. Thereby, when head-on collision or oblique head-on collision of the vehicle is detected, the airbag 16 and the airbag 26 can be inflated/deployed to restrain the rear seat occupant P. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an occupant restraint device, and more particularly to an occupant restraint device including an airbag device capable of effectively restraining a rear seat occupant in various collision modes.

  An airbag device as an occupant restraint device was originally developed for the purpose of restraining a driver and a passenger in a passenger seat at the time of a collision. Regarding side collisions, curtain side airbag devices have been developed that can effectively restrain both front and rear passengers. This type of curtain side airbag device is deployed in the form of a curtain facing downward along the entire door window of the front seat and rear seat in a vehicle interior at the time of a collision, and the front seat and rear seat moving in the lateral direction. Crew can be restrained.

  By the way, as a prior art of an occupant restraint device for restraining a rear seat occupant at the time of a collision, an occupant restraint device (Patent Document 1) provided with an airbag device on the back side of a front seat back, or a front seat occupant ( 2. Description of the Related Art There is a rear seat airbag device (Patent Document 2) that has both a driver's side restraint and a rear seat passenger restraint function.

US Pat. No. 6,648,367 JP 2000-79863 A

  By the way, the airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 1 for restraining the rear seat occupant accommodates the airbag device in the front seat back so that it can be moved forward when a frontal collision (front collision) or an oblique collision (oblique collision) occurs. The airbag accommodated in the seat back is inflated and deployed toward the rear seat occupant from the tearing portion provided on the back side of the seat back. However, the distance between the airbag and the rear seat occupant varies depending on the reclining state of the seat back of the front seat and the front / rear slide position of the seat, and there is a possibility that the restrained state of the rear seat occupant by the airbag may vary. Moreover, since the passenger restraint by the airbag is intended for a frontal collision and a slanted collision, it is necessary to use a curtain side airbag device in combination with a side collision or rollover.

  In the rear-seat airbag device disclosed in Patent Document 2, the front seat occupant can be restrained from the side and the rear seat occupant by one airbag, so that only one front seat occupant is in the center. A special seat layout is assumed, such as sitting.

  Accordingly, an object of the present invention is to accommodate a plurality of occupants seated in the rear seat in both sides of the rear seat seat portion of the single seat and in the lower part of the center pillar in order to effectively restrain the occupant seated in the front and side collisions. It is providing the passenger | crew restraint apparatus which consists of an airbag apparatus.

  In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention introduces folded airbags in seats on both sides of the occupant seating position of the seat and introduced from an inflator that operates in response to an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected. The gas is inflated and deployed in a substantially straight wall shape toward the upper side at both sides of the occupant due to the gas thus formed.

  At this time, when the airbag is inflated in a substantially straight wall shape, it is preferable that the front end portion has a bent portion shape facing each other. Thereby, the bending rigidity of an airbag can be improved and the passenger | crew who moves ahead is restrained.

  By using a single seat as the seat, a substantially straight-walled airbag can be inflated immediately on both sides of the seated occupant, and an occupant restraint effect can be obtained.

  A folded airbag and an inflator that supplies gas to the airbag are accommodated in a lower portion of the center pillar, and the airbag is generated by gas introduced from the inflator that operates upon receiving an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected. Projecting from the opening at the lower part of the center pillar to the rear of the headrest of the front seat and inflating and deploying. This restrains the head of the rear seat occupant that moves forward in the event of a collision.

  Folded airbags are housed in seats on both sides of the occupant seating position of the rear seat, respectively, and receive the operation signal at the time of vehicle collision detection, and the airbags are placed on both sides of the seated rear seat occupant. A rear seat airbag device that inflates and deploys in a substantially straight wall shape upward at each position, and a folded airbag is housed in the lower portion of the center pillar, and the airbag receives the operation signal and the center pillar is A rear seat occupant front airbag device that protrudes from the lower opening of the front seat to the rear of the headrest of the front seat and inflates and deploys, and when a front or oblique front collision of the vehicle is detected, the rear seat airbag device An airbag and an airbag of the rear seat occupant front airbag device are inflated and deployed to restrain the rear seat occupant.

  Positions on both sides of the rear-seat occupant where the airbags are seated in response to an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected, respectively, in the seats on both sides of the occupant seating position of the rear seat A rear seat airbag device that inflates and deploys in a substantially straight wall shape upwards, and a folded airbag is accommodated along the upper edge of the side surface of the front seat. A curtain side airbag device deployed in a curtain shape along the inner surface of the front seat window, and when detecting a side collision of the vehicle, the airbag of the rear seat airbag device and the curtain side airbag The airbag of the device is inflated and deployed to restrain the front seat and rear seat occupants.

  By using the rear seat as a single seat, in each rear seat, the substantially straight-walled airbag can be inflated on both sides of the seated occupant, and an occupant restraint effect can be obtained.

  According to the present invention, when a collision occurs, the movement of the rear seat occupant can be effectively restrained particularly depending on the form of the collision.

  Hereinafter, as the best mode for carrying out the occupant restraint device of the present invention, the following embodiments will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  Hereinafter, the configuration of the occupant restraint device will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 and 2. FIG. 1 shows that a rear seat airbag device 10 serving as a first passenger restraint device is accommodated in a passenger seat side rear seat in a passenger compartment 1 and a rear seat passenger front serving as a second passenger restraint device. FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a state in which the airbag device 20 is housed in a resin trim 4 covering the center pillar B. FIG. 2 is a partial plan view of a portion corresponding to the inside of the passenger compartment 1 shown in FIG.

  In the present invention, the rear seat 3 is assumed to be an independent single seat of a captain seat type similar to the front seat 2 as shown in a plan view in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear seat airbag device 10 mounted on the rear seat 3 is configured such that the airbag 11 and the inflator 12 are arranged in series and are accommodated in the seat portion 3 a of the rear seat 3. Yes. The airbag 11 is folded into a bellows shape of about 2.5 cm, and is accommodated near the side edges of the bolster 3b located on both sides of the seat portion 3a, as indicated by broken lines in FIG. The planar shape is composed of a straight portion 11a along the side surface of the seat portion 3a and a bent portion 11b that is slightly curved at the front and faces inward. Then, as shown in FIG. 3 (a), the cushion foam 5 such as a hard polyurethane foam in the seat seat portion 3 is accommodated in a space (not shown) provided by cutting the cushion foam 5 in the seat seat portion 3 while being connected to the inflator 12. Has been.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 3B, the bolster 3b, which is on both sides of the seat surface of the seat portion 3a in which the two folded airbags 11, 11 are accommodated in a symmetrical shape, is disposed. In addition, a tear line 15 (cleavage line) having a symmetrical shape is formed on the fabric covering the sheet. Since the tear line 15 is located near the side edge of the bolster 3b, an occupant in a normal seating posture does not sit on the tear line 15. The tear line 15 is closed by a seam (not shown) having such a strength that it cannot be cut by a force applied to the fabric F by a normal occupant seating operation. On the other hand, when the airbag 11 is inflated and deployed, the seam is torn by the force of jumping upward, and the entire airbag is inflated and deployed so as to extend upward from the tear line 15 that has been split. In this embodiment, the inflator 12 is connected to a gas inlet (not shown) at the rear end of each airbag 11 accommodated on the left and right sides of the seat 3a. As shown in FIG. 3C, the inflator 12 is accommodated in the center rear of the seat portion 3a, and the gas supply pipe 14 may be piped from the position to the airbags 11 and 11 arranged on the left and right. . In this example, since the left and right airbags 11 and 11 are inflated and deployed by one inflator 12, the number of parts can be reduced and the operations of the two inflators 12 and 12 are synchronized as shown in FIG. It is possible to inflate and deploy substantially straight-walled airbags located on both sides of the occupant at the same time without having to be made.

The shape of the first occupant restraint device when inflated and deployed will be described with reference to FIGS.
4 and 5 show each equipped airbag 16 (hereinafter, the airbag after the folded airbag 11 is inflated is denoted by reference numeral 16. The same applies to the airbags 21, 31, and 41). It is the schematic perspective view and the side view which showed the state which expanded and expanded. As shown in both figures, in the present embodiment, the rear seat airbag device 10 is configured so that each airbag 16 has its front portion slightly inward from the positions of the bolsters 3b on both sides of the rear seat 3 toward the upper side. It expands in a substantially straight wall shape that is bent so as to turn around. In the present embodiment, the airbag 16 has an inflated shape having a height from the seating surface of 70 cm or more and a thickness of about 100 to 150 mm. In addition, on the surface of the inflated airbag 16, there are formed several tack-like stitching portions 17 that form several straight lines in the vertical direction. By providing the stitching portion 17, it is possible to prevent the intermediate position in the height direction of the substantially straight wall portion 16a of the airbag 16 from being inflated. Thereby, the airbag 16 can be inflated in a substantially straight wall shape with a uniform thickness in the height direction. The bent portion 16b at the front part also plays a role of improving the rigidity of the side of the airbag 16 (in the axle direction) of the substantially straight wall portion 16a.

  As shown in FIG. 4 (FIG. 6), the rear seat airbag device 10 is inflated at the front bent portion 16b following the substantially straight wall portion 16a of the airbag 16 located on the left and right of the occupant. In this case, the occupant P has a shape that protrudes to the front of both shoulders. For this reason, when the occupant P in the rear seat falls forward during a front collision, the front shoulder of the occupant P comes into contact with the bent portion 16b of the airbag 16, and the shoulder position of the occupant P is restrained by the bent portion 16b.

  On the other hand, the rear seat airbag device 10 is positioned on both sides of the occupant P at a height approximately equal to the head of the occupant P on which the substantially straight wall portion 16a is seated. Therefore, when a side collision or rollover of the vehicle occurs, the occupant P who is about to move the substantially straight wall portion 16a of the airbag 16 to the side can be restrained. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 5, it is not necessary to equip the rear seat with the curtain side airbag device 30 equipped in the front seat.

Here, the configuration of the rear-seat occupant front airbag device 20 housed in the center pillar trim 4 as the second occupant restraint device will be described.
As shown in FIG. 2, the rear seat occupant front airbag device 20 includes an airbag 21 that is folded and wrapped with a base fabric that can be easily torn, and an inflator 22 that supplies gas to the airbag 21. ing. As shown in FIG. 1, the rear seat occupant front airbag device 20 is bolted to the rear seat side of a body structure (not shown) below the center pillar B. Specifically, it is attached above the position of the retractor 6 of the seat belt 5 for the passenger seat installed at the lower end of the center pillar B at a position that does not interfere with the travel range of the seat belt 5. An opening 7 closed by a lid 4a corresponding to the size of the device is provided on the surface of the interior trim 4 at the position where the rear seat passenger front airbag device 20 is attached. The outer peripheral edge of the lid 4a is connected to the trim 4 through a weak portion having a known shape. As shown in FIG. 5, the lid 4 a is pushed open by the inflation pressure of the airbag 26 acting from the inside when the airbag 26 is inflated, and the airbag 26 projects smoothly from the opening 7.

  The airbag 26 of the rear seat occupant front airbag device 20 is in an inflated shape as shown in FIGS. 4, 5, 6B, and 6C. Therefore, it has a substantially conical shape with an enlarged diameter, and is formed in an elongated cylindrical shape whose front end side is rounded at the upper end of the front seat back 2a and the rear position of the headrest 2b. Since the airbag 26 is inflated and deployed in such a shape, the head of the rear seat occupant P comes into contact with and restrained by the airbag 26 inflated behind the headrest 2b of the front seat 2 at the time of the front collision.

  A configuration of the curtain side airbag device 30 as a third occupant restraint device will be described. In the present invention, the curtain side airbag device 30 is provided only for the front seat 2. As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 31 of the curtain side airbag device 30 is housed in a cover molding (not shown) at the upper part of the side of the vehicle compartment by folding along the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. When a side collision is detected by a side collision detection sensor (not shown), a detection signal is output to a control unit (not shown) such as an in-vehicle ECU, and the inflator 32 communicated with the rear end by an operation command from the control unit. 4 is operated, and gas is supplied from the inflator 32. As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the front seat door window W is developed in a curtain shape downward and covers the front seat door window W. The curtain-like airbag restrains the front seat occupant who may move in the lateral direction or jump out.

Hereinafter, various types of collisions of the vehicle (own vehicle) and operation examples of the airbag apparatus that inflates and deploys by detecting the collision state will be described with reference to FIGS.
In the following description, among the airbag devices installed at various locations in the vehicle, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the front seat curtain side airbag device 30 installed at a predetermined position in the vehicle interior, the passenger seat The operation of the airbag device 40 (see FIG. 2), the rear seat airbag device 10, and the rear seat occupant front airbag device 20 will be described.

  As shown by the arrow in FIG. 6A, when a side collision state from the left side of the vehicle is assumed, a collision sensor (not shown) installed on the left side of the vehicle detects a left side collision, A control unit (not shown) determines the side collision state, and operation commands are output to the front seat curtain side airbag device 30 and the inflators 32 and 12 of the rear seat airbag device 10. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), the two airbag devices 36 and 16 are inflated and deployed at the same time, and are seated on the passenger seat with the seat belt and the single-seat rear seat on the passenger seat side. A passenger is restrained. The rear seat airbag device 10 is inflated and deployed even when a side collision occurs from the right side of the vehicle, and the occupant moving in the right direction is restrained by the substantially straight wall portion 16a of the airbag 16 inflated on the right side of the seat. As described above, the rear seat airbag device 10 can also restrain an occupant seated on the side far from the collision surface side at the time of a side collision.

  As indicated by an arrow in FIG. 6B, when a frontal state of the vehicle is assumed, a collision sensor (not shown) installed at the front of the vehicle detects a frontal collision, and a control unit (not shown) detects the collision. The state is determined, and an operation command is output to each of the inflators 12, 22, and 42 of the passenger seat airbag device 40, the rear seat airbag device 10, and the rear seat passenger front airbag device 20. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (b), the three airbags 16, 26, and 46 were inflated and deployed at the same time, and were seated on the passenger seat with the seat belt and the single-seat rear seat on the passenger seat side. A passenger (not shown) can be restrained. At this time, the front seat occupant is restrained by the inflated passenger seat airbag 46. The rear seat occupant is restrained from the shoulder to the upper limb at the front bent portion 16a of the airbag 16 inflated on both sides of the seat side, and further, the head is attached to the airbag 26 inflated behind the headrest 2b of the front seat. It abuts and is restrained.

  As shown by the arrow in FIG. 6 (c), when an oblique collision state from the left front of the vehicle is assumed, a collision sensor (not shown) installed on the front and side of the vehicle detects the left front oblique collision. And the control unit (not shown) determines the collision state, and the passenger seat airbag device 40, the front seat curtain side airbag device 30, the rear seat airbag device 10, and the rear seat occupant front airbag device 20 An operation command is output to each inflator 42, 32, 12, 22. As a result, as shown in FIG. 6 (c), the four airbags 46, 36, 16, and 26 are inflated and deployed at the same time, and are installed in the passenger seat with the seat belt and the one-seat rear seat on the passenger seat side. A seated passenger (not shown) can be restrained. At this time, the rear seat occupant is restrained from the left shoulder to the upper limb by the front bent portion 16a of the airbag 16 inflated on both sides of the seat side portion and the left airbag 16L, and the head portion is the front seat. The air bag 26 inflated behind the headrest 2b is brought into contact with and restrained.

  FIG. 7 is a state explanatory view showing an occupant restraint state at the time of a front collision in a modified example in which an airbag having the same configuration as that of the rear seat airbag device 10 described above is installed in the passenger seat. As shown in FIG. 7, the front seat occupant at the time of a side collision can be restrained by providing the seat portion of the front seat 2 with the front seat airbag device having the same configuration as the rear seat airbag. For this reason, the front seat curtain side airbag apparatus 30 (FIG. 5) becomes unnecessary. Further, at the time of a front collision, the occupant can be restrained by the front bent portion 16fa of the airbag 16f. As a result, it is not necessary to restrain the occupant from the upper limb to the head as in the conventional passenger airbag device 40, and the airbag 41 (see FIG. 2) having a capacity capable of restraining the occupant head is provided. That's fine. For this reason, the capacity | capacitance of the airbag 46 of the passenger seat airbag apparatus 40 can be reduced significantly. In FIG. 7, the rear seat airbag device 10 of the rear seat is controlled not to operate because the seat weight sensor (not shown) of the rear seat 3 does not detect the seating of the passenger.

1 is a schematic side view of a passenger compartment showing a configuration of an embodiment of an occupant restraint device of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic partial plan view schematically showing a planar arrangement of the occupant restraint device shown in FIG. 1. The seat top view and sectional view showing the accommodation state in the seat of the backseat airbag device. The schematic perspective view which showed the inflation state of the airbag apparatus at the time of a collision. The schematic side view which showed the inflated state of the airbag apparatus at the time of a collision. Explanatory drawing explaining the expansion | swelling aspect of the airbag apparatus in each collision state. The schematic side view which showed the modification of the passenger | crew restraint apparatus.

Explanation of symbols

1 Car compartment 2 Front seat (seat)
3 Rear seats
4 Center pillar trim 10 Rear seat airbag device 20 Rear seat occupant front airbag device 30 Front seat curtain side airbag device 40 Passenger seat airbag devices 11, 21, 31, 41 Airbags (when folded)
12, 22, 32, 42 Inflator 16, 26, 36, 46 Airbag (when inflated)
16a substantially straight wall portion 16b bent portion B center pillar

Claims (7)

  Folded airbags are respectively housed in seats on both sides of the seating position of the seat, and the airbag is caused by gas introduced from an inflator that operates in response to an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected. An occupant restraint device that expands and develops in a substantially straight wall shape toward the upper side at both sides of the occupant.   2. The occupant restraint device according to claim 1, wherein when the airbag is inflated in a substantially straight wall shape, a front end portion thereof has a bent portion shape facing each other.   The occupant restraint device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the seat is a single seat.   A folded airbag and an inflator that supplies gas to the airbag are accommodated in a lower portion of the center pillar, and the airbag is generated by gas introduced from the inflator that operates upon receiving an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected. The occupant restraint device, wherein the occupant restraint device is inflated and deployed by projecting from the cleavage opening at the lower part of the center pillar to the rear of the headrest of the front seat. Folded airbags are housed in seats on both sides of the occupant seating position of the rear seat, respectively, and the airbags receive the operation signal at the time of vehicle collision detection, and the airbags are placed on both sides A rear seat airbag device that inflates and deploys in a substantially straight wall shape upward at each position,
A folded airbag is housed in the lower part of the center pillar, and the airbag is inflated and deployed by receiving the operation signal and projecting from the opening at the lower part of the center pillar to the rear of the headrest of the front seat. A bag device,
Restraining the rear seat occupant by inflating and deploying the airbag of the rear seat airbag device and the airbag of the rear seat occupant front airbag device when a front or oblique front collision of the vehicle is detected. An occupant restraint device. Positions on both sides of the rear-seat occupant where the airbags are seated in response to an operation signal when a vehicle collision is detected, respectively, in the seats on both sides of the occupant seating position of the rear seat A rear seat airbag device that inflates and deploys substantially in the shape of a straight wall upward,
A curtain side airbag device in which a folded airbag is accommodated along the upper side edge of the front seat, and the airbag is deployed in a curtain shape along the inner surface of the front seat window in response to the operation signal. Prepared,
When a side collision of the vehicle is detected, an airbag of the rear seat airbag device and an airbag of the curtain side airbag device are inflated and deployed to restrain passengers in the front seat and the rear seat. An occupant restraint system.   The occupant restraint device according to claim 5 or 6, wherein the rear seat is a single seat.

Images