JP2008189023A - Rear window airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

An object of the present invention is to further enhance the restraint of an occupant's head by an airbag bag body in a rear window airbag device.
An air bag body 20 receives a gas supply from an inflator 18 and inflates and deploys along a rear window glass 36 of a vehicle 12 in a vehicle compartment 40, as well as a gas supply. And a second inflating portion 42 that suppresses the forward movement of the head 46H of the occupant 46 that is inflated and deployed and seated on the rearmost seat 44. By restraining the head 46H of the occupant 46 by the first inflating portion 41 of the airbag bag body 20, the movement of the head 46H to the rear of the vehicle can be suppressed. Further, by restraining the head portion 46H of the occupant 46 by the second inflating portion 42 of the airbag bag body 20, it is possible to suppress the head portion 46H from moving forward of the vehicle after contacting the first inflating portion 41. is there.
[Selection] Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a rear window airbag device.

When an impact is applied to the vehicle from the rear or when the impact is predicted, a curtain shield airbag is deployed between the rear seat and the rear window glass, and the occupant moves rearward from the rear seat. The structure which prevents this is disclosed (refer patent document 1). In addition to this, a configuration is disclosed in which the airbag is inflated and deployed so as to be along the lower surface of the roof (see Patent Document 2).
JP 2004-58849 A JP 2004-58850 A

  However, in the above-described conventional example, the rearward movement of the occupant can be suppressed by the airbag bag body deployed between the rearmost seat and the rear window glass at the time of rear collision or prediction of the rear collision of the vehicle. There is still room for improvement in the restraint on the head.

  In view of the above facts, an object of the present invention is to further increase the restraint of an occupant's head by an airbag bag body in a rear window airbag device.

  According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an inflator that generates gas at the time of a rear collision or a prediction of a rear collision of the vehicle, and the gas supplied from the inflator is inflated and deployed along the rear window glass of the vehicle in the vehicle interior. An airbag bag body comprising: a first inflatable portion; and a second inflatable portion that receives the gas supplied from the inflator and inflates and expands to restrain the occupant's head seated on the rear seat from moving forward of the vehicle. It is characterized by having.

  In the rear window airbag device according to claim 1, the inflator is activated at the time of rear collision or prediction of rear collision of the vehicle, and the gas generated from the inflator is supplied to the airbag bag body, thereby the airbag. The bag body expands and expands. Since this airbag bag body has the 1st inflating part which inflate-deploys along with the rear window glass of vehicles, the movement of a crew member's head to the vehicles back can be controlled by the 1st inflating part. Further, since the airbag bag body has the second inflating portion that suppresses the movement of the head of the occupant toward the rear of the vehicle, the head portion is restrained by restraining the head by the second inflating portion. It is possible to suppress movement toward the front of the vehicle after contacting the first inflating portion. Thus, in the rear window airbag device according to the first aspect, it is possible to further enhance the restraint of the occupant's head by the airbag bag body.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the rear window airbag device according to the first aspect, in the airbag bag body, the second inflating portion is continuous with a front edge of the first inflating portion, and is provided at a ceiling of the passenger compartment. It is characterized by being configured to expand along.

  In the rear window airbag device according to claim 2, in the airbag bag body, the second inflating portion is configured to be continuous with the front edge of the first inflating portion and to be deployed along the vehicle interior ceiling. Therefore, the head of the passenger seated on the rearmost seat can be restrained in a continuous region from the first inflating portion to the second inflating portion at the time of rear collision or prediction of rear collision of the vehicle. For this reason, it is possible to further enhance the restraint of the occupant's head by the airbag body.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the rear window airbag device according to the second aspect of the present invention, the amount of deployment in the vehicle vertical direction at the boundary portion is restricted at the boundary portion between the first inflatable portion and the second inflatable portion. The unfolding amount restricting means is provided so as to extend in the vehicle width direction.

  In the rear window airbag device according to claim 3, a deployment amount regulating means for regulating a deployment amount in the vehicle vertical direction at the boundary portion is provided at a boundary portion between the first inflation portion and the second inflation portion in the vehicle width direction. When the occupant's head is restrained by the inflated airbag bag body, the head easily enters the boundary between the first and second inflatable portions. For this reason, it is possible to further restrain the occupant's head from moving back and forth and to enhance the restraint of the head.

  As described above, according to the rear window airbag device of the first aspect of the present invention, in the rear window airbag device, the restraint of the occupant's head by the airbag bag body can be further enhanced. An excellent effect is obtained.

  According to the rear window airbag device of the second aspect, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the restraint property of the occupant's head by the airbag bag body can be further enhanced.

  According to the rear window airbag device of the third aspect, it is possible to obtain an excellent effect that the forward and backward movement of the occupant's head can be further suppressed and the restraint of the head can be enhanced.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In FIG. 1, a rear window airbag device 10 according to the present embodiment is an airbag device provided on a frame member, for example, a rear roof header 16 in a passenger compartment ceiling portion 14 in consideration of a rear collision of a vehicle 12. Yes, an inflator 18 and an airbag bag body 20 are provided.

  First, the configuration around the rear roof header 16 of the vehicle 12 will be briefly described. The rear roof header 16 is a frame member provided in the vehicle width direction, for example, at the vehicle rear end portion of the roof panel 26 that constitutes the vehicle interior ceiling portion 14, and the vehicle rear end portion of the roof panel 26 and the roof panel 26. And a roof header inner panel 24 provided on the vehicle interior side of the vehicle interior, and is further reinforced by a reinforcement 28. The roof panel 26 and the rear roof header 16 are covered with a roof head lining 30 as an interior material. An airbag module 32 is attached to the roof header inner panel 24. The airbag module 32 includes an inflator 18 and a folded airbag body 20 in a module case (not shown).

  At the rear edge of the rear roof header 16, for example, a weather strip 34 is provided. The weather strip 34 is fitted with a rear edge portion of the roof head lining 30 and an upper edge portion of the rear window glass 36. In the roof head lining 30, a portion corresponding to the airbag module 32 is provided with a tier portion 30A and a hinge portion 30B, for example, extending in the vehicle width direction, for example. The hinge portion 30B is provided on the vehicle front side with respect to the tier portion 30A, for example.

  Here, the tier portion 30A is, for example, a thin rupture-scheduled portion provided in the roof head lining 30, and is configured to rupture when a predetermined or higher deployment pressure of the airbag bag body 20 is applied. . The hinge portion 30B is also a thin portion provided in the roof head lining 30, but is formed to be thicker than the tier portion 30A and is configured not to break even when the tier portion 30A breaks. . That is, when the airbag bag body 20 is inflated and deployed, the tear portion 30A is broken, so that a portion between the tear portion 30A and the hinge portion 30B is deployed to the vehicle interior side around the hinge portion 30B, and the roof A portion of the headlining 30 that is behind the vehicle from the tier 30A is configured to expand toward the vehicle interior side while deforming the weather strip 34, for example (see FIG. 2).

  Next, the configuration of the airbag module 32 will be described. The inflator 18 included in the airbag module 32 is gas generating means for generating gas at the time of a rear collision or prediction of a rear collision of the vehicle 12. For example, one inflator 18 is provided at the center of the airbag bag body 20 in the vehicle width direction, and is held by a retainer 22 (FIG. 3). The retainer 22 is fixed to, for example, a roof header inner panel 24 together with one portion of a plurality of fixing portions 20A arranged in the vehicle width direction on the upper portion of the airbag bag body 20 (see also FIG. 3).

  The inflator 18 is configured to operate by an operating current from an airbag ECU (not shown) and supply an inflation gas to the airbag bag body 20. The airbag ECU detects that a rear collision has occurred or a rear collision has occurred based on a signal from a rear collision sensor that detects a rear collision of the vehicle 12 or a rear collision pre-crash sensor that predicts the rear collision (both not shown). It is determined that the possibility increases and an ignition current is supplied to the inflator 18. Here, the rear collision pre-crash sensor is a millimeter wave radar or the like (not shown) provided near the rear bumper of the rear end of the vehicle for predicting that the possibility of the rear collision has increased before the rear collision. The air bag ECU comprehensively judges the output signal to predict the rear collision.

  In FIG. 2, the airbag bag body 20 included in the airbag module 32 is a bag body that is normally folded, and is inflated and deployed by receiving the supply of gas from the inflator 18. And a second inflating portion 42. As shown in FIG. 3, the airbag bag body 20 is fixed to a roof header inner panel 24 (see FIG. 1) at a plurality of fixing portions 20A arranged in the vehicle width direction.

  The first inflating portion 41 is a portion of the airbag bag body 20 that inflates and deploys along the rear window glass 36 in the passenger compartment 40. Specifically, the first inflatable portion 41 is a headrest provided between the head 46H of the occupant 46 seated on the rearmost seat 44 and the rear roof header 16, and further on the seatback 54 of the rearmost seat 44, for example. 50 and the rear window glass 36 of the vehicle 12 so as to be inflated and deployed. For the portion of the rear seat 44 where the headrest 50 is not installed, the first inflating portion 41 is inflated and deployed between the rear window glass 36 and the head 46H of the occupant 46.

  In addition to this, the upper end portion of the first inflating portion 41 is inflated and deployed forward of the vehicle along the vehicle interior ceiling portion 14 to, for example, the vehicle upper position of the head 46H of the occupant 46. In this way, the first inflating portion 41 that inflates and deploys from the vehicle compartment ceiling portion 14 to the rear window glass 36 can suppress movement of the head 46H of the occupant 46 toward the rear of the vehicle at the time of a rear collision of the vehicle 12. Yes.

  On the other hand, the second inflating portion 42 is a portion of the airbag bag body 20 that is continuous with the front edge of the first inflating portion and expands along the passenger compartment ceiling portion 14, and the occupant 46 seated on the rearmost seat 44. The head 46 </ b> H is configured to suppress the forward movement of the vehicle. As shown in FIG. 3, a tether 48, which is an example of a deployment amount regulating means for regulating the deployment amount in the vehicle vertical direction at the boundary portion 20B, is provided at the boundary portion 20B between the first expansion portion 41 and the second expansion portion 42. However, for example, three are arranged in the vehicle width direction. That is, in the present embodiment, in one airbag bag body 20, the inflated portion on the vehicle rear side from the boundary portion 20B in which the deployment amount is regulated by the tether 48 is referred to as a first inflatable portion 41, and from the boundary portion 20B The inflating portion on the vehicle front side is called a second inflating portion 42.

  The number and arrangement of the tethers 48 provided at the boundary portion 20B of the airbag bag body 20 are not limited to the examples described and illustrated above. Further, the expansion amount restricting means is not limited to the tether 48, and may be configured to restrict the expansion amount of the boundary portion 20B by, for example, a strap or sewing.

(Function)
This embodiment is configured as described above, and the operation thereof will be described below. In FIG. 1, in the rear window airbag device 10, when the airbag ECU determines a rear collision of the vehicle 12 or predicts a rear collision, an ignition current flows from the airbag ECU to the inflator 18. Then, the inflator 18 is activated, a large amount of gas is supplied to the folded airbag bag body 20, and the airbag bag body 20 starts to expand and deploy.

  As shown in FIG. 2, when a deployment pressure of a predetermined level or more of the airbag bag body 20 acts on the tier portion 30A of the roof head lining 30, the tier portion 30A breaks, and the tier portion 30A and the hinge portion 30B A portion between the rear portion of the roof head lining 30 and the rear portion of the vehicle 30 extends toward the vehicle interior while deforming the weather strip 34. The airbag bag body 20 is inflated and deployed into the passenger compartment 40 through the opening 52 formed thereby.

  The first inflatable portion 41 in the airbag 20 is between the head 46H of the occupant 46 seated on the rear seat 44 and the rear roof header 16, and further, the headrest 50 of the rear seat 44 and the rear window glass 36. It goes into the space and expands. For the portion of the rear seat 44 where the headrest 50 is not installed, the first inflating portion 41 is inflated and deployed between the rear window glass 36 and the head 46H of the occupant 46. For example, the lower end portion of the first inflating portion 41 expands to the vicinity of the upper end of the seat back 54.

  In addition to this, the upper end portion of the first inflating portion 41 is inflated and deployed forward of the vehicle along the roof head lining 30 of the passenger compartment ceiling portion 14 to, for example, the vehicle upper position of the head 46H of the occupant 46. As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the portion of the first inflating portion 41 that interferes with the headrest 50 is restricted from being developed by the headrest 50, but the portion beyond the upper end of the headrest 50 is, for example, the It expands from the front surface of the headrest 50 to the front of the vehicle. For this reason, when the head 46 </ b> H of the occupant 46 attempts to move rearward of the vehicle beyond the headrest 50, the head 46 </ b> H can be quickly restrained by the first inflating portion 41.

  On the other hand, the second inflating portion 42 in the airbag bag body 20 is continuous with the front edge of the first inflating portion 41 and along the roof head lining 30 of the passenger compartment ceiling portion 14, for example, above the head 46 </ b> H of the passenger 46. Expands to a further forward position than the position. As shown in FIG. 1, the boundary 20B between the first inflatable portion 41 and the second inflatable portion 42 in the airbag bag body 20 is regulated by the tether 48 so that the amount of deployment in the vehicle vertical direction is restricted. The maximum amount of expansion of the inflatable portion 42 in the vehicle vertical direction is larger than that of the boundary portion 20B. For this reason, as shown in FIG. 3, the second inflating portion 42 expands in a substantially semicylindrical bank shape that extends in the vehicle width direction and swells toward the vehicle lower side.

  At the time of a rear collision of the vehicle 12, the occupant 46 moves upward and rearward of the vehicle due to inertia, and the head 46H tries to move in the direction of the rear roof header 16 over the headrest 50. Since the first inflating portion 41 of the airbag bag body 20 is deployed, the head portion 46H can be quickly restrained by the first inflating portion 41, and the movement of the head portion 46H to the rear of the vehicle is suppressed. Is possible.

  Further, when the head portion 46H comes into contact with the first inflatable portion 41, if the head portion 46H tries to move forward by the reaction, for example, the second inflatable portion of the airbag body 20 is in that region. Since 42 is deployed, the head portion 46H can be restrained by the second inflating portion 42. For this reason, it is possible to suppress the head 46 </ b> H from moving forward of the vehicle after contacting the first expansion portion 41.

  Particularly in the present embodiment, the airbag bag body 20 is configured such that the second inflatable portion 42 is continuous with the front edge of the first inflatable portion 41 and is deployed along the roof head lining 30 of the vehicle interior ceiling portion 14. Therefore, the head 46 </ b> H of the occupant 46 can be restrained in a continuous region from the first inflating portion 41 to the second inflating portion 42.

  In addition to this, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, in the present embodiment, a tether 48 is provided at a boundary portion 20 </ b> B between the first inflatable portion 41 and the second inflatable portion 42 in the airbag bag body 20, Since the amount of expansion of the boundary portion 20B in the vehicle vertical direction is restricted and recessed toward the vehicle upper side, when the airbag bag body 20 restrains the head portion 46H of the occupant 46, the head portion 46H becomes the boundary portion 20B. It is easy to enter, and it is possible to further suppress the back-and-forth movement of the head 46H. Since the second inflating portion 42 develops in a substantially semi-cylindrical bank shape extending in the vehicle width direction, when the seating position of the occupant 46 in the rear seat 44 is different from the illustrated position, for example, the occupant 46 Even when seated on the right side of the seat 44, the head 46H can be prevented from moving back and forth in the same manner.

  As described above, in the rear window airbag device 10, it is possible to further enhance the restraint of the head 46 </ b> H of the occupant 46 by the airbag bag body 20 at the time of rear collision or prediction of rear collision of the vehicle 12.

  In the present embodiment, the airbag bag body 20 has been described on the assumption that the first inflatable portion 41 and the second inflatable portion 42 are continuous. However, the present invention is not limited to this. You may comprise as an airbag bag body independent of the 1 expansion | swelling part 41. FIG. In this case, the inflator 18 may be shared by the first inflating part 41 and the second inflating part 42, or an inflator for the second inflating part 42 may be provided separately. Further, an airbag module (not shown) including the inflator and the second inflating portion 42 is separated from the air bag module 32 including the inflator 18 and the first inflating portion 41, for example, the roof head lining 30 and the roof panel 26. You may make it provide between.

  In FIG. 1, the folding method of the airbag bag body 20 is bellows folding, but the folding method of the airbag bag body 20 is not limited to bellows folding, and may be, for example, roll folding. A combination of bellows folding and roll folding may be used. Specifically, roll folding is preferably used for a portion of the first inflating portion 41 that develops between the headrest 50 and the rear window glass 36, for example. This is because if the portion is wound up toward the rear side of the vehicle, the deployment direction is stabilized and the deployment between the headrest 50 and the rear window glass 36 is facilitated.

It is a fragmentary sectional view which shows the passenger | crew who seated on the structure of the rear window airbag apparatus, and the rearmost seat. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the state where a crew member's head is restrained by the developed airbag bag body in the vehicle side view. It is a perspective view which shows the state which the passenger | crew's head is restrained by the deployment shape of this airbag bag body, and this airbag bag body. It is a fragmentary sectional view showing the state where a crew member's head is restrained by the developed airbag bag body in the vehicle front view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Rear window airbag apparatus 12 Vehicle 14 Cabin ceiling part 18 Inflator 20 Airbag bag body 20B Boundary part 36 Rear window glass 40 Cabin 41 First inflatable part 42 Second inflatable part 44 Rear seat 46 Crew 46H Head 48 Tether (deployment amount regulation means)

Claims (3)

An inflator that generates gas at the time of rear collision or prediction of rear collision of the vehicle;
A first inflatable portion that inflates and expands along the rear window glass of the vehicle in the vehicle interior that receives the gas supply from the inflator, and an inflated and expands in response to the gas supply from the inflator to the rear seat. An airbag bag body having a second inflating portion for suppressing movement of the head of a seated occupant to the front of the vehicle;
A rear window airbag device comprising:   The said airbag bag body WHEREIN: The said 2nd expansion | swelling part is comprised so that it may continue along the front edge of a said 1st expansion | swelling part, and it expand | deploys along a vehicle interior ceiling part. Rear wind airbag device.   The deployment amount regulating means for regulating a deployment amount of the vehicle in the vertical direction at the boundary portion is provided at a boundary portion between the first expansion portion and the second expansion portion. Rear wind airbag device.

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