JP2008114721A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an air bag device capable of making an air bag effectively jump out in a moment toward the front of an occupant through a space between a rim part and a pad of a steering wheel. <P>SOLUTION: This air bag device comprises an inflator 30 and a nozzle part 40 connecting a gas outlet 31 of the inflator 30 to a gas lead-out part 41 of the air bag 20. The air bag 20 has a lower roll part 71 provided on a lower side of the gas lead-out part and wound up from under in relation to the gas lead-out part 41 provided in a tip of the nozzle part 40 so as to be housed in the pad 11, and an upper roll part 72 provided on an upper side of the gas lead-out part in relation to the gas leaf-out part 41 and catching at least one part of the lower roll part 71 from over. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device that breaks a pad of a steering wheel in an emergency, passes through the inside of a rim portion of the steering wheel, and is deployed in front of an occupant.

In the airbag device, when the gas generated by the inflator is sent to the airbag through the nozzle portion and deployed, the top surface of the pad of the steering wheel is broken and passed through the inner side of the rim portion of the steering wheel and in front of the occupant. The airbag device to be deployed is described in, for example, Patent Document 1 or Patent Document 2.
International Publication WO 2005/044643 A1 German Published Patent Publication DE 19951029 A1

In the airbag device that is deployed in front of the occupant through the inside of the rim portion of the steering wheel, the airbag smoothly passes through the inside of the rim portion of the steering wheel by the gas generated by the inflator, and instantly accurately and safely, It is required to deploy in front of passengers.
The present invention relates to a structure of the airbag itself accommodated in the pad when the airbag is deployed, a shape when accommodated in the pad, and a rim portion of the steering wheel at the initial deployment of the airbag. To obtain a configuration in which the airbag can quickly and effectively jump out from between the rim portion of the steering wheel and the pad toward the front of the occupant. Furthermore, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device having a strong connection structure between a nozzle portion for supplying gas for deploying the airbag to the airbag and the airbag.

Therefore, the airbag device of the present invention is an airbag device in which the pad of the steering wheel is broken in an emergency and the airbag passes through the inside of the rim portion of the steering wheel and is deployed in front of the occupant. Includes an inflator, and a nozzle part that connects a gas outlet of the inflator and a gas outlet part to the airbag, and the airbag includes at least a front panel, an upper rear panel, and a lower rear panel, and the upper rear panel Includes a rear side upper portion of the airbag and an upper surface side panel of the nozzle portion, and the lower rear panel includes a rear side lower portion of the airbag and a lower surface side panel of the nozzle portion. . Preferably, the upper surface of the pad is configured to be broken.
The airbag has a lower roll portion that is below the gas lead-out portion and wound up from below with respect to the gas lead-out portion at the tip of the nozzle portion in order to be accommodated in the pad, and the gas lead-out The upper roll portion is located above the gas lead-out portion and includes at least a part of the lower roll portion from above, and is housed in the pad in a compactly folded state.
Furthermore, it is desirable that the airbag has a deployment control sewing portion that is cut by a force of the airbag that is inflated and deployed at the time of deployment at a lower portion of the airbag.
Furthermore, it is desirable that the development control sewing portion has a non-sewing portion below.
Preferably, the nozzle portion has a cylindrical shape, and the diameter of the gas outlet of the inflator is substantially equal to the diameter of the gas outlet portion to the airbag.
Further, when the airbag is deployed, the nozzle portion has such a length that the gas outlet portion is positioned on the occupant side with respect to the plane including the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel. Is desirable.
Furthermore, a resin is sandwiched between the panel forming the nozzle part and at least a part of the outer periphery sewing part that forms the cylindrical shape by sewing the upper surface side panel and the lower surface side panel. It is desirable to leave.
The airbag device preferably includes a nozzle portion that connects the inflator and the airbag, and a tether that regulates the deployed shape of the airbag.
When the airbag is deployed, the tether is connected between the inflator and the plane including the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel when the airbag is deployed. It is desirable that the other end be coupled in the vicinity of a position on an extension line of the upper surface of the pad in a plane facing the occupant of the airbag.
And it is desirable that the airbag having the above-described features is housed in a compactly folded manner in the pad of the steering wheel.

  An airbag apparatus according to the present invention includes an inflator, and a nozzle part that connects a gas outlet of the inflator and a gas outlet part to the airbag. The airbag includes at least a front panel, an upper rear panel, and a lower part. A rear panel, the upper rear panel further includes a rear side upper portion of the airbag and an upper surface side panel of the nozzle portion, and the lower rear panel is a rear lower portion of the airbag and a lower surface of the nozzle portion. Includes side panels.

  As described above, the airbag is constituted by a total of three panels, that is, one front panel, an upper rear panel, and a lower rear panel.

  In addition, the upper rear panel includes an upper surface side panel of the nozzle portion integrally with the upper rear panel, and the lower panel also includes a lower surface side panel of the nozzle portion integrally therewith.

  Thus, since the upper rear panel of the airbag and the upper surface side panel of the nozzle portion, and the lower rear panel and the lower surface side panel of the nozzle portion are integrated, there are few seams such as sewing. Therefore, even if a sudden force is applied at the time of deployment or high heat is generated at the time of deployment, there is no concern that the connection portion between the airbag and the nozzle portion will rupture. And an airbag are connected.

  In addition, the airbag according to the present invention is wound up from below in the state where the airbag is folded and accommodated in the pad, with respect to the gas outlet portion to the airbag at the tip of the nozzle portion. A lower roll part, and an upper roll part that is above the gas lead-out part and wraps at least a part of the lower roll part from the upper side with respect to the gas lead-out part.

  With this configuration, at the initial stage of deployment of the airbag, the nozzle portion is first inflated by the gas generated by the inflator. At that time, the upper roll portion that wraps a part of the lower roll portion from the upper side is It comes out from between the steering wheels with the roll part held from above. When the nozzle part is fully expanded, the upper roll part starts to expand, but at that time, the rim part of the steering wheel becomes an obstacle and the upper roll part is restrained for a moment. At that time, the gas suddenly flows into the lower roll portion, so that the upper and lower roll portions are opened at a stretch, and the airbag can be deployed in front of the steering wheel with an ideal deployment behavior.

  In addition, when the gas outlet portion to the airbag at the tip of the nozzle portion is in a position where it abuts against the inner peripheral side of the rim portion when the airbag is deployed, the upper roll portion contacts the rim portion at the initial stage of deployment. Then, the gas inflow to the upper roll part is restrained, and the gas immediately flows into the lower roll part by the reaction, and the gas inflow to the upper and lower roll parts is rapidly performed, and the airbag is more preferably deployed. Done in

  Further, in the airbag device of the present invention, when the airbag is deployed, the gas outlet portion of the nozzle portion is positioned closer to the occupant side than the plane including the occupant side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel. It is stably led out to the airbag, and the airbag can be deployed more reliably.

  Furthermore, when the airbag is deployed, the tether is connected between the inflator and a plane including the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel when the airbag is deployed. The other end of the pad is connected in the vicinity of a position on an extension line of the upper surface of the pad in a plane facing the occupant of the airbag. For this reason, since the connecting portion to the position facing the occupant of the tether is positioned at almost the same height as the upper surface of the pad, the downward expansion and bulging of the airbag is promoted, and the occupant's face and chest Appropriate unfolded shape for protection.

  Furthermore, in the airbag device of the present invention, when the airbag is deployed, the gas outlet portion of the nozzle portion is positioned closer to the occupant side than the plane including the occupant side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel. Gas is stably led out to the airbag, and the airbag can be deployed more reliably.

An example of an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view showing a state in which an airbag is deployed, FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of a steering wheel, illustrating a plane including a top surface of a rim portion and upper and lower surfaces of a pad, and FIG. FIG. FIG. 4 is a rear view of the airbag. 5 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line YY in FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG. 3, showing a configuration of the airbag when undeployed, a nozzle portion and a tether integrally connected thereto, and FIG. 7 is a front view of a front panel constituting the airbag. 8 is a front view of the upper rear panel constituting the airbag, and FIG. 9 is a front view of the lower rear panel similarly constituting the airbag.

In the embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface 13 (see FIG. 2) of the pad 11 of the steering wheel 10 is broken in the event of an emergency, and the airbag 20 passes through the inside of the rim portion 12 of the steering wheel 10 This is an airbag device that is deployed in front of the airbag. The airbag device A includes an inflator 30, and a nozzle unit 40 that connects a gas outlet 31 of the inflator 30 and a gas outlet 41 to the airbag 20. The airbag 20 includes at least a front panel 21, and three panels, an upper rear panel 22 and a lower rear panel 23 (FIGS. 3 and 4). The upper rear panel 22 includes the rear side upper part of the airbag 20 and the upper surface side panel 42 of the nozzle part 40. The lower rear panel 23 includes a rear lower portion of the airbag 20 and a lower surface side panel 43 of the nozzle portion 40.
The air bag 20 is accommodated in the pad 11 so that the lower roll portion 71 is wound below from the gas deriving portion 41 with respect to the gas deriving portion 41 at the tip of the nozzle portion 40. And an upper roll portion 72 that is located above the gas lead-out portion 41 and winds at least a part of the lower roll portion 71 from the upper side with respect to the gas lead-out portion (FIG. 10).

  As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 20 according to the present invention breaks the upper surface 13 (see FIG. 2) of the pad 11 of the steering wheel 10 and passes through the inside of the rim portion 12 of the steering wheel 10 (FIG. 2). Unfolded in front of the occupant.

  The airbag device A includes an inflator 30, a nozzle portion 40, an airbag 20, and a tether 50, and the nozzle portion 40 connects the gas outlet 31 of the inflator 30 and the airbag 20; When the airbag 20 is deployed, the position of the gas lead-out portion 41 of the nozzle portion 40 to the airbag 20 is closer to the occupant side than the plane P (FIG. 2) including the occupant side top surface of the rim portion 12 of the steering wheel 10. That is, it is located on the right side of FIG. 1 by a distance α (α ≧ 0).

  In the state when the airbag 20 of FIG. 1 is deployed, one end of the tether 50 is in the nozzle portion 40, and is between the inflator 30 and the plane P including the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion 12. It is connected. The other end of the tether 50 is in the vicinity of a position on the extension line of the upper surface 13 (FIG. 2) of the pad 11 (the width shown by the slanted line in FIG. 1) within the surface facing the passenger side of the airbag 20. (The range of W) is coupled by the coupling portion 52.

  Here, the plane P including the upper surface 13 of the pad 11 and the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion 12 will be described in more detail with reference to FIG. In FIG. 2, a plane P including the occupant side top surface of the rim portion 12 is a plane in contact with the occupant side of the circular rim portion 12, that is, the right side of FIG. Further, the upper surface 13 of the pad 11 of the steering wheel 10 is the upper side surface of the pad corresponding to the 12 o'clock position of the watch when viewed from the passenger side (right side in FIG. 2) in FIG. 1 or FIG. As is clear from FIG. 1, the position of the gas outlet 41 of the nozzle portion 40 is located so as to protrude further to the occupant side than the plane P including the occupant side top surface of the rim portion 12.

  Therefore, prior to the deployment of the airbag 20, first, the nozzle portion 40 passes through the inside of the rim portion 12 of the steering wheel 10 together with the undeployed airbag 20, and at the moment when the gas outlet portion 41 projects out of the plane P. The airbag 20 is configured to be deployed.

  Hereinafter, an example of the embodiment of the airbag 20 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the nozzle portion 40 is formed by an upper surface side panel 42 and a lower surface side panel 43. 7-9 is the figure which decomposed | disassembled the airbag 20 and the nozzle part 40. FIG. As shown in FIG. 7, the airbag 20 includes a single front panel 21 having a circular shape in plan view, an upper rear panel 22 (FIG. 8) that is symmetrical and substantially T-shaped, and a lower rear panel that is symmetrical and substantially inverted T-shaped. 23 (FIG. 9).

  As apparent from FIG. 6, the upper rear panel 22 constituting the airbag 20 is integrally formed with an upper surface side panel 42 constituting the nozzle portion 40 at the lower part thereof. Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the lower rear panel 23 of the airbag 20 is integrally formed with the lower surface side panel 43 of the nozzle portion 40 at the upper part thereof.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the front panel 21, the upper rear panel 22, and the lower rear panel 23 are joined at a peripheral portion by a sewing portion 24 to constitute an airbag.

  As described above, the airbag 20 and the nozzle portion 40 are configured by only three panels (21, 22, 23), which is the first characteristic feature of the present invention.

As shown in FIG. 5, the nozzle portion 40 integrated with the airbag 20 has a cylindrical shape in which an upper surface side panel 42 and a lower surface side panel 43 are coupled to each other by sewing portions 44. Then, the nozzle section 40 without the cylindrical shape are substantially approximately equal constituting a diameter D ₂ of the gas outlet portion 41 to the diameter D ₁ and the air bag 20 of gas outlet 31 of the inflator 30 (D ₁ ≒ D _2). For example, a silicon resin 46 is narrowed in at least a part of the sewing portion 44. For example, the portion where the silicon resin 46 is narrowed is applied to the length indicated by the symbol A in FIG. 4 to the width indicated by the symbol B in FIG.

  One end of the tether 50 is coupled to the outlet side of the inflator 30. In FIG. 6, the nozzle portion 40 is coupled to the lower surface side panel 43 of the nozzle portion 40 by a sewing portion 51. The other end of the tether 50 is a sewing portion 52 and is coupled to the inside of the front panel 21 of the airbag 20 via a reinforcing panel 53. Then, as described with reference to FIG. 1, when the airbag 20 is deployed, the position of the coupling portion 52 is in the vicinity of the position on the extension line of the upper surface 13 of the pad 12 within the plane facing the passenger of the airbag 20 (FIG. 1 coupling portion 52).

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a deployment control sewing portion 60 is provided at the lower portion of the airbag 20 in a symmetrical manner. By providing the sewing portion 60, when the airbag 20 is deployed, this portion is cut by the deployment force of the airbag 20, and the deployment action of the airbag is controlled. A non-sewing portion 61 is provided below the development control sewing portion 60. As a result, the development gas wraps around the back side of the development control sewing portion 60 to facilitate the development control.

  In the above description, the upper portion or the lower portion of the airbag 20 where the deployment sewing portion 60 is provided is a geometric horizontal center line as viewed from the front of the occupant when the airbag 20 is deployed. Means the spatial region of the air bag chamber defined by dividing it into an upper part and a lower part.

  The airbag 20 of the present invention having the above configuration is in a state where it is accommodated in the pad 30 as shown in FIG. 10, with respect to the gas outlet 41 to the airbag 20 at the tip of the nozzle portion 40. A lower roll portion 71 that is below the gas lead-out portion 41 and wound up from below, and at least a part of the lower roll portion 71 that is above the gas lead-out portion 41 with respect to the gas lead-out portion 41 from above. It has two roll parts with the upper roll part 72 wound and wrapped in the direction opposite to the winding direction of the lower roll part 71, and is accommodated in a compact state.

  The gas lead-out portion 41 to the airbag 20 at the tip of the nozzle portion 40 is in a position where it abuts against the inner peripheral side of the rim portion 12 of the steering wheel 10 when the airbag 20 is deployed.

  Because of such a configuration, when the airbag is deployed, the nozzle portion 40 provided with the gas outlet portion 41 to the airbag 20 at the tip passes through the inside of the rim portion 12 together with the two roll portions 71 and 72 ( Figure 2).

  At this time, as shown in FIG. 12, the upper roll 72 strikes the inner surface of the rim portion 12. Then, the upper roll 72 is pushed back by the rim portion 12 as indicated by the arrow A in FIG.

  At the moment when the rim 12 is pushed back, the lower roll 71 is accelerated toward the lower part of the rim 12 as shown in FIG. Incidentally, the state of FIG. 13 shows the deployed state of the airbag 20 after about 5 msec.

  As described above, in the airbag apparatus A according to the present invention, the two rolls wound in the opposite directions of the upper roll 72 and the lower roll 71 when the airbag 20 is accommodated in the pad 11. It is in a compact accommodation state consisting of parts. 3 or 4, the airbag 20 includes a front panel 21, an upper rear panel 22, and a lower rear panel 23. The front panel 21, the upper part, and the lower rear panel 22 and 23 are joined together by sewing their peripheral edges. It has a shape. An example of a method for compacting the airbag 20 by winding it on the upper roll 72 and the lower roll 71 as shown in FIG. 10 will be described with reference to FIG.

(Airbag folding storage method)
(Step 1) First, the inflator 30 (FIG. 14) to which the plastic plate 80 for protecting the airbag is attached is inserted and fixed to the end of the nozzle portion 40 (FIG. 15). At this time, the longer piece of the plastic plate 80 ( The upper piece in FIG. 14 is set to be on the upper surface side panel 42 (FIG. 17) constituting the nozzle portion 40.
(Step 2) After fixing the inflator 30 to the nozzle part 40 (FIGS. 16 and 17), the airbag 20 is turned upside down, and the nozzle part 40 to which the inflator 30 is fixed is positioned on the back side. The front panel 21 side of the front side (FIG. 18),
(Step 3) Further, the left side of the airbag 20 is folded back to the right with the front panel 21 side turned up (FIG. 18) (FIG. 19).
(Step 4) After folding once on the right side, the right-side portion that is folded and overlapped is folded back to the left in the reverse direction near the right end of the nozzle portion 40 (FIG. 20).
(Step 5) Further, it is turned back to the right in the opposite direction again (FIG. 21), and when it is folded three times in total, the lower roll 71 is formed by winding up the lower end of the thick bar-shaped airbag upward (FIG. 22). ),
(Step 6) Finally, the opposite side 73 of the part wound up in Step 5 is folded inward once (see reference numeral 74 in FIG. 23), and then wound on the lower roll 71 so as to be held. The upper roll 72 is formed (FIG. 23).
The folding is completed as described above and can be accommodated in the pad 11.

  Since it is stored as described above, the gas ejected from the inflator 30 is ejected from the gas outlet 31 of the inflator into the nozzle portion 40, but the pad 11 together with the airbag 20 in which the nozzle portion 40 is in a non-deployed state. When the air bag protrudes from the upper surface 13 (arrow a in FIG. 2) and passes through the inside of the rim portion 12, the inner surface of the rim portion 12 is struck and pushed back to expand the airbag on the passenger side.

  During this deployment, the deployment action of the airbag 20 is appropriately controlled by the presence of the deployment control sewing portion 60 and the non-sewing portion 61 provided at the lower portion of the airbag 20 and the presence of the tether 50, thereby Can be protected.

It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view which shows the state which the airbag expand | deployed. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a steering wheel, and is a figure explaining the plane including the top surface of a rim | limb part, and the upper and lower surfaces of a pad. It is a front view of the airbag at the time of non-deployment. It is a rear view of the airbag at the time of non-deployment. FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line YY of FIG. 4 and shows a sewing joint portion between the upper surface side panel and the lower surface side panel that constitute the nozzle portion. It is XX sectional drawing of FIG. 3, and is a figure which shows the structure of the airbag part at the time of non-deployment, the nozzle part connected integrally with this, and a tether. It is a front view of the front panel which comprises an airbag. It is a front view of the upper rear panel which comprises an airbag. It is a front view of the lower rear panel which comprises an airbag. It is sectional drawing which shows the airbag accommodated in the pad. It is sectional drawing just before expansion | deployment of an airbag. It is sectional drawing which shows the state which the gas derivation | leading-out part of a nozzle part front-end | tip hits against the inner peripheral side of the rim | limb part just before deployment of an airbag. It is a front view of the state which the lower roll of an airbag has begun to expand | deploy. It is sectional drawing of the state which attached the plastic plate which protects the inflator and airbag in this invention. It is a perspective view which shows the state which inserts an inflator in a nozzle part. It is a perspective view of the state which fixes an inflator to a nozzle part. It is sectional drawing of the state which fixed the inflator to the nozzle part. It is a perspective view of the state which turned up the front panel which constitutes an airbag in the non-deployment state of an airbag. It is a perspective view of the state where the air bag was folded once to the right. It is a perspective view of the state where the airbag was folded twice. It is a perspective view of the state where the airbag was folded back 3 times. It is sectional drawing of the state which wound the lower part from the state of FIG. 21, and formed the lower side roll. It is sectional drawing of the state which wound up the upper side roll on the lower side roll.

Explanation of symbols

A Airbag device 10 Steering wheel 11 Pad 12 Rim part 13 Pad upper surface 20 Airbag 21 Front panel 22 Upper rear panel 23 Lower rear panel 24 Sewing part 30 Inflator 31 Gas outlet 40 Nozzle part 41 Gas outlet part 42 Upper surface side panel 43 Lower surface side Panel 44 Sewing part 50 Tether 51 Tether coupling part 52 (tether) coupling part 53 Reinforcement panel 60 Deployment control sewing part 61 Non-sewing part 71 Lower roll 72 Upper roll 80 Plastic plate P Passenger side top surface of rim part Including plane

Claims (10)

An airbag device that breaks the steering wheel pad in an emergency and the airbag passes through the inside of the rim of the steering wheel and is deployed in front of the occupant,
The airbag device includes an inflator, and a nozzle portion that connects a gas outlet of the inflator and a gas outlet portion to the airbag,
The airbag includes at least a front panel, an upper rear panel, and a lower rear panel,
The upper rear panel includes a rear side upper part of the airbag and an upper surface side panel of the nozzle part,
The lower rear panel includes a rear lower portion of the airbag and a lower surface side panel of the nozzle portion. In order to accommodate the airbag in the pad, a lower roll portion that is below the gas outlet portion and wound up from below with respect to the gas outlet portion at the tip of the nozzle portion;
The upper roll part which is above the gas lead-out part with respect to the gas lead-out part and which winds at least a part of the lower roll part from the upper side. Airbag device.   The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag has a deployment control sewing portion that is cut by a force of the airbag that is inflated and deployed at the time of deployment at a lower portion of the airbag.   The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the deployment control sewing portion includes a non-sewing portion below the sewing portion.   The said nozzle part comprises cylindrical shape, The diameter of the gas outlet of the said inflator and the diameter of the gas derivation | leading-out part to the said airbag are substantially equal, The any one of Claims 1-4 characterized by the above-mentioned. Airbag device.   When the airbag is deployed, the nozzle portion has a length that the gas outlet portion is positioned on the occupant side of the rim portion of the steering wheel relative to the plane including the occupant side top surface. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein   A resin is sandwiched between the panel forming the nozzle part and at least a part of the outer peripheral sewing part that forms the nozzle part into a cylindrical shape by sewing the upper surface side panel and the lower surface side panel. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 6.   The said airbag apparatus is provided with the nozzle part which connects the said inflator and the said airbag, and the tether which controls the expansion | deployment shape of the said airbag, The any one of Claims 1-7 characterized by the above-mentioned. The airbag apparatus as described in.   When the airbag is deployed, one end of the tether is connected between the inflator and a plane including the occupant-side top surface of the rim portion of the steering wheel. 9. The airbag device according to claim 8, wherein the end is coupled in the vicinity of a position on an extension line of the upper surface of the pad in a plane facing the occupant of the airbag.   The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 9, wherein the airbag is accommodated in a pad of the steering wheel.

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