JP2011178188A - Airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

An airbag device capable of stably holding a support plate for receiving an airbag in an inflated state with a simple configuration at a protruding position.
An airbag device includes an airbag and a support plate. The support plate 77 is stored in a storage position indicated by a two-dot chain line before the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, and when the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, the impact of the airbag 46 is interlocked with the deployment and inflation. Displacement toward the protruding position indicated by the solid line set near the location side. The support plate 77 receives the airbag 46 in an inflated state that is pressed by an occupant that is displaced toward the impact location side in response to an impact on the vehicle. A recessed portion 90 into which the support plate 77 displaced to the protruding position is provided when the airbag 46 is in an inflated state.
[Selection] Figure 6

Description

  In the present invention, when an impact is applied to the vehicle from the side of the vehicle seat, the airbag is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location of the occupant, and the occupant moving to the impact location with the impact is provided to the airbag. This relates to an airbag device that receives and protects the airbag device.

  When an impact is applied to the vehicle from one side to the other in the vehicle width direction due to a side collision (side collision), the occupant tries to stay in that position due to inertial force, whereas the vehicle moves in the same direction. Or deform. Using the vehicle as a reference, the occupant tries to move toward the impact location with respect to the vehicle. In the case of an occupant seated on a vehicle seat far from the impact location, the occupant tends to move to the vehicle seat side near the impact location. Thus, for example, in the airbag devices described in Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2, the airbag is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location side of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat far from the impact location, and the impact is applied. Accordingly, the occupant trying to move to the impact location side is received and protected from the impact.

Moreover, in these patent documents 1 and patent documents 2, the structure which receives the airbag pressed by the passenger | crew who moves to the impact location side with an impact is employ | adopted.
In patent document 1, the storage case is provided in the side part by the side of the impact location of a vehicle seat. The storage case is formed by bending a plate-shaped member, and the folded airbag is stored in the storage case. The storage case includes a vehicle inner side portion positioned on the vehicle inner side than the airbag, a front wall portion positioned on the front side of the airbag, and a vehicle outer side portion positioned on the vehicle outer side of the airbag. .

  When an impact is applied to the vehicle, the inflation gas is supplied to the folded airbag, and the airbag starts inflating and deploying. At this time, the folded portion of the airbag is deployed and inflated toward the front of the vehicle, and tries to push out the vehicle outer side portion and the front wall portion of the storage case. The vehicle outer side portion and the front wall portion pushed out by the airbag rotate around the boundary portion between the front wall portion and the vehicle inner side portion as the airbag is deployed and inflated. The airbag is deployed and inflated while being sandwiched between the occupant, the vehicle outer side portion, and the front wall portion. When the airbag has been deployed and inflated, the front wall and the vehicle outer side are located on the vehicle inner side of the airbag. The airbag is pressed by an occupant moving to the impact location side with an impact, but is received by the front wall portion and the vehicle outer side portion.

  In Patent Document 2, a stop bar and an actuating means for operating the stop bar independently from the deployment and inflation of the airbag are provided on the impact location side of the vehicle seat. The stop bar is rotatably formed on the upper part of the vehicle seat and includes a shaft portion that protrudes in a substantially horizontal direction and a bar portion that extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the shaft portion, and has an L shape. This stop bar has its bar portion directed vertically downward before an impact is applied to the vehicle.

  When an impact is applied to the vehicle, the airbag is deployed and inflated, and the stop bar is rotated about the shaft portion by the operating means so that the bar portion faces substantially horizontally forward. By this rotation, the bar portion is displaced to the protruding position on the impact location side of the deployed and inflated airbag. Therefore, the airbag is pressed by the occupant moving toward the impact location, but is received by the stop bar.

JP 2007-230310 A JP 2009-280023 A

  However, Patent Document 1 described above does not disclose the configuration of the boundary portion between the front wall portion and the vehicle inner side portion in the storage case. For this reason, it is unclear whether the vehicle outer side portion and the front wall portion rotated with the deployment and inflation of the airbag can be stably held at a position for receiving the airbag in the inflated state.

  Further, in Patent Document 2 described above, a complicated mechanism that stably holds the stop bar rotated around the shaft portion at a position for receiving the airbag in the inflated state is required.

Such a problem occurs in common in the case of an airbag device adopting a configuration for receiving an airbag pressed by an occupant moving to the impact location side in response to an impact.
The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to stably hold a member for receiving an inflated airbag in a protruding position with a simple configuration. It is in providing the airbag apparatus which can be performed.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 is seated on the vehicle seat in response to an impact applied from a side of the vehicle seat to the vehicle on which the vehicle seat is disposed. An airbag that is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location of the occupant, and is stored in a storage position before the airbag is deployed and inflated. A support plate that is displaced toward a protruding position set in the vicinity of the impact location side of the bag, and the inflated airbag pressed by an occupant moving to the impact location side with the impact The airbag device is adapted to be received by the support plate displaced to a position where the airbag is displaced to the projecting position when the airbag is in an inflated state. It is summarized as a recess in which the support plate enters is provided.

  According to the above configuration, when an impact due to a collision or the like is applied to the vehicle from one side of the vehicle seat to the other side, the airbag device is activated and the airbag is in the vicinity of the impact location of the occupant. It expands and expands.

  On the other hand, when the impact is applied to the vehicle, an occupant seated in the vehicle seat tries to stay at that position due to inertial force, whereas the vehicle tends to move or deform in the same direction. In other words, the occupant tries to move toward the impact point with respect to the vehicle. If the occupant tries to move to the impact location side even after contacting the inflated airbag, a pressing force toward the impact location is applied to the airbag.

  However, in the first aspect of the invention, the support plate is displaced from the storage position toward the protruding position in conjunction with the deployment and inflation of the airbag. In the protruding position, the support plate is located in the vicinity of the impact location side of the airbag. As a result, even if the airbag is pressed by an occupant moving to the impact location side due to an impact, the airbag is received by the support plate and restricted from being displaced to the impact location side.

  Furthermore, in the invention according to the first aspect, a recess is formed at a location on the impact location side of the airbag during deployment and inflation. The support plate that is displaced toward the protruding position in conjunction with the deployment and expansion of the airbag enters the recess. The inner wall portion of the recess regulates the displacement of the support plate by elastically contacting the support plate that has entered the recess. That is, the recessed portion of the airbag exhibits a function of positioning the support plate. As a result, the support plate that has entered the recess at the protruding position is held in a stable state at the protruding position, thereby reliably exhibiting the function of receiving the airbag.

  In the case of a vehicle in which a plurality of vehicle seats are arranged side by side, an occupant to be protected by an airbag is, for example, according to the invention described in claim 2, among the plurality of vehicle seats. It can be set as the passenger | crew seated on the vehicle seat other than the vehicle seat nearest to the impact location of the vehicle when an impact is applied from one side of the installation direction to the other.

  In this case, if an impact due to a collision or the like is applied to the vehicle from one side to the other in the direction in which the vehicle seats are juxtaposed, it corresponds to other vehicle seats except the vehicle seat closest to the impact location of the vehicle. The air bag device is activated. The airbag of the airbag device is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the side of the impact location (the vehicle seat closest to the impact location) of the occupant seated on the other vehicle seat. In addition, the support plate is displaced from the storage position to the protruding position on the impact location side of the airbag, that is, on the side opposite to the other vehicle seat with the airbag interposed therebetween. For this reason, even if an occupant seated in another vehicle seat attempts to move toward the impact location, the movement is restricted by the support plate and the airbag.

  The invention according to claim 3 is the invention according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the airbag is provided with a thickness regulating portion that regulates a thickness of the airbag at the time of deployment and inflating. The gist is that the connection location with the thickness regulating portion constitutes the bottom portion of the recess, and the vicinity of the connection location constitutes the inner wall portion of the recess.

  In general, an airbag tends to be inflated with a gas for inflation. Therefore, when the thickness regulating portion is provided in the airbag and the thickness of the airbag at the time of deployment and inflation is regulated, the airbag that is deployed and inflated has the smallest thickness at the connection portion with the thickness regulating portion. Further, in the vicinity of the connection location, the thickness of the airbag increases as the distance from the connection location increases.

  In this respect, in the invention described in claim 3, the connection portion with the thickness regulating portion, which is the portion having the smallest thickness, is used as the bottom portion of the recess. Moreover, about an airbag, the location which is the vicinity of the said connection location and expand | swells thicker than the said connection location is utilized as an inner wall part of a recessed part. The thickness regulating portion is provided to regulate the thickness of the airbag at the time of deployment and inflation. For this reason, in the airbag apparatus of the invention according to claim 3 in which the airbag is provided with a thickness regulating portion, it is not necessary to separately provide a special structure for forming the recess.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the invention of the third aspect, the airbag protects the chest of the upper body of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat and at least a portion adjacent to the chest. It is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location to be protected, and the thickness regulating portion regulates the thickness of the airbag corresponding to the chest of the occupant seated on the vehicle seat. This is the gist.

  According to said structure, a recessed part is located in the side of a breast by providing a thickness control part in the location corresponding to a passenger | crew's breast in an airbag. When the support plate is displaced to the protruding position, the support plate enters the recess and receives the airbag pressed by the occupant.

  Here, if the airbag is received by the support plate on the side of the lower end (waist) of the upper body, the upper body may be inclined so as to be closer to the impact location on the upper side. This is because there is nothing to catch the airbag on the side above the lower end of the upper body. However, in the invention described in claim 4, the airbag is received by the support plate on the side of the chest located in the middle part of the upper body in the vertical direction. By the reception at this position, the above-described inclination of the upper body of the occupant is efficiently suppressed.

  The invention according to claim 5 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support plate is displaced from the storage position to the protruding position by rotating about a shaft. It is a summary.

  According to the above configuration, the support plate rotates about the shaft as a fulcrum when displaced from the storage position to the protruding position. Then, the support plate displaced to the protruding position enters the recessed portion of the airbag formed at the time of deployment and inflation. The rotation of the support plate is restricted by the recess, and the support plate is held at the protruding position.

The invention according to claim 6 is summarized in that, in the invention according to claim 5, a rotation restricting portion for restricting the support plate from rotating beyond the protruding position is further provided.
According to the above configuration, when the support plate rotates from the storage position toward the protruding position in response to an impact on the vehicle, the rotation is restricted by the rotation restricting portion if the support plate tries to rotate beyond the protruding position. By this restriction, the support plate is prevented from rotating to the side opposite to the storage position from the protruding position.

  Further, when the rotation is restricted as described above, the support plate once displaced to the protruding position tries to rotate to the storage position side by the reaction at the time of the restriction. However, as described above, the support plate displaced to the protruding position enters the recess of the airbag formed during deployment and inflation. The rotation of the support plate toward the storage position is restricted by the recess. Of course, this recess also restricts the support plate from rotating beyond the protruding position to the side opposite to the storage position.

Therefore, the rotation of the support plate once entering the recess is restricted by the rotation restricting portion and the recess, and the support plate is reliably held at the protruding position.
The gist of the invention described in claim 7 is that, in the invention described in claim 5 or 6, a strap is bridged between the airbag and the support plate.

  According to the above configuration, when the support plate is in the storage position, the airbag has not yet been deployed and inflated. For this reason, the strap is not subjected to a pulling force accompanying the deployment and inflation of the airbag, and no force is generated to rotate the support plate toward the protruding position.

  The strap exhibits a function of interlocking the support plate with the deployment and inflation of the airbag when the airbag is deployed and inflated in response to an impact on the vehicle due to a collision or the like. That is, when the airbag is deployed and inflated, the connection portion of the airbag with the strap is displaced along with the deployment and inflation. The strap is pulled along with the displacement of the connecting portion, and the support plate is pulled through the strap.

  By the above pulling, the support plate rotates around the shaft in conjunction with the deployment and inflation of the airbag, and is displaced from the storage position toward the protruding position. Then, the support plate displaced to the protruding position enters the recessed portion of the airbag formed at the time of deployment and inflation. The support plate is restricted in rotation by the recess and is held at the protruding position.

  The invention according to claim 8 is the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 7, wherein a console is disposed in the vehicle and in the vicinity of the impact location side of the vehicle seat. The gist of the invention is that the airbag has a portion that expands and inflates between the occupant and the console.

  According to said structure, a part (part) of an airbag expand | deploys and expands between a passenger | crew and the console located in the impact location side vicinity of the vehicle seat. This console receives the part (part) of the airbag from the impact location side and restricts further displacement to the impact location side. As the console is restricted, displacement of the airbag and the occupant toward the impact location is more reliably suppressed than when the airbag is simply received by the support plate.

  According to the airbag device of the present invention, the support plate for receiving the airbag in the inflated state can be stably held at the protruding position with a simple configuration.

1 is a partial plan sectional view showing a pair of vehicle seats arranged side by side and a side airbag device and an airbag device equipped for each vehicle seat in an embodiment embodying the present invention. Similarly a front sectional view. The side view which shows the vehicle seat and the airbag apparatus with which the vehicle seat was equipped in one Embodiment. The side view which shows the airbag apparatus with which the airbag of the state expand | deployed and inflated was received by the support plate with a vehicle seat and a passenger | crew. The side view which shows the airbag apparatus in FIG. The partial side view which shows a mode that a support plate is rotated from a storage position to a protrusion position. The perspective view which shows the state which looked at the support plate and the bracket from back. The side view which shows the inflator assembly arrange | positioned in an airbag. The top view which shows the state which looked at the inflator assembly from diagonally backward upper side with a seat frame, a bracket, a support plate, an airbag, etc. The side view which shows the airbag made into the form for storage. Sectional drawing which shows the cross-section along the XX line of FIG. (A) is sectional drawing which shows the cross-sectional structure along the YY line | wire of FIG. 5, (B) is sectional drawing which expands and shows the Z section of (A). The side view which shows the relationship between the airbag of a plane expansion | deployment state, and a fold line. (A) is a schematic side view which shows an airbag apparatus when an airbag is folded by the intermediate form, (B) is a schematic rear view of the apparatus. The side view which shows the airbag of the form for accommodation with the airbag of the state which has completed expansion | deployment.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.
In the following description, the forward direction of the vehicle will be described as the front, and the reverse direction of the vehicle will be described as the rear. Further, in the following description, the vertical direction means the vertical direction of the vehicle, and the horizontal direction is the vehicle width direction of the vehicle and coincides with the horizontal direction when the vehicle moves forward.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 to 3, a center console 12 extending in the front-rear direction is provided at the front portion of the vehicle compartment 11 in the vehicle 10 and at the center in the vehicle width direction. The center console 12 corresponds to the console in the claims. In the center console 12, a location on the side of a seat cushion 15 to be described later is higher than the other locations, and the upper surface 12 </ b> U is set to a height at which an occupant can put his elbow without breaking his posture. The center console 12 is provided with operation portions such as a shift lever and a side brake lever, and is provided with storage spaces such as a cup holder, an ashtray, and an accessory case.

  For the vehicle 10 and its constituent members, the center console 12 is used as a reference when defining the vehicle width direction. The side close to the center console 12 is referred to as “vehicle inside”, and the side away from the center console 12 is referred to as “vehicle outside”.

  A pair of vehicle seats 13 and 14 are arranged side by side on both sides of the center console 12 in the vehicle width direction. Both the vehicle seats 13 and 14 are provided at the front part in the passenger compartment 11 (front seats), and constitute a driver seat and a passenger seat. Each of the vehicle seats 13 and 14 includes a seat cushion (seat portion) 15 disposed substantially horizontally and a seat back (back portion) 16 disposed on the rear side of the seat cushion 15. An occupant (a driver and a passenger) can face the front side of the vehicle 10 and sit on the seat cushion 15 and can fall on the seat back 16. The seat surface of the seat cushion 15 is located at a position lower than the upper surface 12U of the center console 12.

  In each seat back 16, a seat frame 17 constituting the skeleton is arranged (see FIGS. 4, 6, and 9). A part of the seat frame 17 is disposed inside both side portions (a vehicle outer side portion 18 and a vehicle inner side portion 19) in the width direction of the seat back 16, and this portion (hereinafter referred to as a “side frame portion”). 17A ") is formed by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. A seat pad (not shown) made of an elastic material such as urethane foam is disposed around the side frame portion 17A for each of the side portions 18 and 19. The seat pad is covered with a skin (not shown).

  In the passenger compartment 11, when an impact caused by a collision is applied to the vehicle 10 from the front, a seat belt device for protecting the passenger by restricting the movement of the passenger seated on each of the vehicle seats 13 and 14 ( (Not shown) is provided for each of the vehicle seats 13 and 14. In order to distinguish between the two occupants, the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 13 is referred to as “occupant P1”, and the occupant seated in the vehicle seat 14 is referred to as “occupant P2”.

  Due to a side collision or the like with respect to the body side parts 21 and 22 of the vehicle 10 in which the pair of vehicle seats 13 and 14 are arranged side by side as described above, the solid line arrows and the two-dot chain line arrows in FIGS. As shown, an impact may be applied from one side to the other side of the vehicle seats 13 and 14 in the side-by-side direction (vehicle width direction).

  Here, the body side parts 21 and 22 refer to members disposed on both sides of the vehicle 10 in the vehicle width direction. For example, the body side parts 21 and 22 corresponding to the front seat include a front door and a center pillar. (B pillar).

  The direction in which the impact is applied to the body side parts 21 and 22 is typically the direction in which the vehicle seats 13 and 14 are juxtaposed, that is, the direction perpendicular to the traveling direction of the vehicle 10, but is not limited thereto. A direction obliquely intersecting the parallel arrangement direction (a direction orthogonal to the vehicle traveling direction) is also included. When such an impact is applied, in the same vehicle width direction, the occupants P1, P2 try to stay at that position due to the inertial force, whereas the body side portions 21, 22 are located on the vehicle interior side (the other body side portions 22, 21). Try to move to the side) or deform. When the vehicle 10 is used as a reference, the passengers P1 and P2 try to move toward the impact location with respect to the vehicle 10.

  For example, when an impact due to a side collision or the like is applied from the direction (right side) indicated by the solid line arrow in FIG. 2, the occupants P1, P2 try to move to the right. In addition, when an impact is applied from the direction indicated by the two-dot chain line arrow in FIG. 2 (left side), the passengers P1 and P2 try to move to the left. Moreover, in the vehicle 10, the body side parts 21 and 22 which are the places which receive the impact from a side directly try to deform | transform into a vehicle inside, respectively.

  The occupants P1 and P2 who are seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14 on the side close to the impact location and are about to move to the impact location side due to the impact are deformed into the vehicle compartment 11 due to a side collision or the like. The passengers P1 and P2 are protected by a so-called side airbag device 30. The side airbag device 30 is provided in each of the pair of vehicle seats 13 and 14 because there is a possibility that an impact is applied to the vehicle 10 from both the juxtaposed directions of the vehicle seats 13 and 14. Has been. For example, when an impact is applied from the direction (right side) indicated by the solid arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2, the occupant P1 seated on the right vehicle seat 13 causes the side airbag device 30 indicated by the solid line. Protected by.

  Each side airbag device 30 includes an airbag 31 and an inflator 32 (see FIG. 2) that are housed in the side portion 18 on the vehicle exterior side of the seat back 16. In each side airbag device 30, inflation gas is supplied from the inflator 32 to the airbag 31 in response to an impact. The airbag 31 to which the inflation gas is supplied jumps out from the side portion 18 of the seat back 16 and is inflated and deployed in a narrow gap between the occupants P1 and P2 and the body side portions 21 and 22. The passengers P1 and P2 are restrained by the airbag 31, and the impact from the outside transmitted to the passengers P1 and P2 through the body side portions 21 and 22 is reduced.

  Further, the passengers P1 and P2 who are seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14 on the side far from the impact location and move to the impact location side are protected by the airbag device 40 of the present embodiment. Here, as described above, the occupants P1 and P2 seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14 on the side far from the impact location try to move to the impact location side due to inertial force. The movement of the waist PP of P1 and P2 is restricted. On the other hand, among the upper body PUs of the occupants P1, P2 that have taken the sitting posture, there is no particular thing that regulates the movement to the impact location side for the portion higher than the center console 12. Therefore, after the lower back PP of the occupants P1, P2 hits the center console 12, the upper body PU of the occupants P1, P2 is inclined so as to approach the impact location as it goes upward. Due to this inclination, the head PH comes closest to the impact location, and the vehicle seats 13 and 14 and the occupants P2 and P1 on the adjacent side (impact location side) and the body side portions 21 and 22 deformed into the passenger compartment 11 due to the impact. There is a risk of contact.

  The airbag device 40 of the present embodiment receives the upper body PU that is displaced toward the impact location side, and the vehicle seats 13 and 14 and the occupants P1 and P2 and the body side portions 21 and 22 next to the above (impact location side). Protect from contact with etc. Since there is a possibility that an impact is applied to the vehicle 10 from both the juxtaposed directions of the vehicle seats 13 and 14, the airbag device 40 is mounted on each of the pair of vehicle seats 13 and 14. Yes. For example, when an impact is applied from the direction indicated by the solid arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 (rightward), the occupant P2 seated on the vehicle seat 14 on the left side of FIGS. It is protected by the bag device 40.

  Each airbag device 40 includes an inflator assembly 41 and an airbag 46 as main components. The inflator assembly 41 and the airbag 46 are accommodated in the side portion 19 on the side farther from the nearest body side portions 21 and 22 (inside the vehicle) with respect to each seatback 16. For example, in the right vehicle seat 13 having the right body side portion 21 as the nearest body side portion in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag 46 and the inflator assembly 41 are accommodated in the left side portion 19. 1 and 2, in the left vehicle seat 14 having the left body side portion 22 as the nearest body side portion, an airbag 46 and an inflator assembly 41 are accommodated in the right side portion 19.

  Next, each of the main constituent members will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, when the airbag device 40 and its main components are referred to as “vertical direction” and “front-rear direction”, the seat back 16 of the vehicle seat 13 is used as a reference. The direction in which the seat back 16 stands is the “vertical direction”, and the direction perpendicular to the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10 with respect to this direction is the “front-rear direction”. Usually, since the seat back 16 is used in a state of being inclined rearward, the “vertical direction” is not strictly a vertical direction but is slightly inclined. Similarly, the “front-rear direction” is not strictly a horizontal direction but is slightly inclined.

<Inflator assembly 41>
FIG. 4 schematically shows the airbag 46 that has been deployed and inflated together with the passenger P2 and the like. FIG. 8 shows an inflator assembly 41 disposed in the airbag 46 of FIG. Further, FIG. 9 shows a state in which the inflator assembly 41 of FIG. As shown in at least one of these FIGS. 4, 8, and 9, the inflator assembly 41 includes an inflator 42 as a gas generator and a retainer 44 that covers the inflator 42 from the outside. . The inflator 42 has a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in the substantially vertical direction. Inside the inflator 42 is stored a gas generating agent (not shown) that reacts in response to an operation signal from the outside to generate an expansion gas.

  There are a plurality of types of inflators 42 due to the difference in the generation mode of the expansion gas, but here, what is called a pyrotype is used. A harness (not shown) serving as a control signal application wiring to the inflator 42 is connected to the upper end of the inflator 42. Further, a gas ejection portion 43 having a substantially cylindrical shape is provided at the lower end portion of the inflator 42.

  As the inflator 42, a type different from the pyro type may be used. Such types include stored gas types in which the bulkhead of a high-pressure gas cylinder filled with high-pressure gas is ruptured with explosives and the like, and a hybrid type in which both a pyro type and a stored gas type are combined. Can be mentioned.

  Most of the retainer 44 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in a substantially vertical direction by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. A plurality of (two in this embodiment) bolts 45 are fixed to the retainer 44 as locking members for attaching the retainer 44 to the side frame portion 17A.

The inflator assembly 41 may be one in which the inflator 42 and the retainer 44 are integrated.
<Airbag 46>
As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 to 3, the airbag 46 is separated from the inflator 42 when an impact is applied to the body side portions 21 and 22 from the outside due to a side collision or the like while the vehicle 10 is traveling. It expands and develops with the expansion gas. Then, the airbag 46 jumps out from the seat back 16 toward the front of the vehicle 10 in a state where a part of the airbag 46 remains in the side portion 19 on the vehicle inner side of the seat back 16 and is seated on the vehicle seat 13. By inflating and deploying near the impact location side of P1 and P2, the passengers P1 and P2 are protected from the impact.

  FIG. 5 shows the airbag 46 in a deployed and inflated state, and FIG. 11 shows a cross-sectional structure taken along line XX of FIG. 12A shows a cross-sectional structure taken along line YY of FIG. 5, and FIG. 12B shows an enlarged Z portion of FIG. 12A.

  The airbag 46 is formed by folding a single base fabric in two at the center portion, overlapping the same in the vehicle width direction, and joining the overlapped portions so as to form a bag shape. Here, in order to distinguish the two overlapping portions of the airbag 46, the one located on the vehicle exterior side is referred to as the vehicle interior fabric portion 47, and the one located on the vehicle interior is referred to as the vehicle interior fabric portion 48. And

As the above-mentioned base fabric, a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, a woven fabric formed using polyester yarn, polyamide yarn or the like is suitable.
The airbag 46 protects the chest part PT and at least a part adjacent to the chest part PT among the upper body PUs of the passengers P1 and P2 seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14, and is near the impact point side of the protection object. It has a size and shape that can be expanded and expanded. In the present embodiment, the head PH and the chest PT are mainly protected. Further, the airbag 46 has a portion 46L which is lower than the upper surface 12U of the side portion of the seat cushion 15 in the center console 12 and which expands and inflates between the center console 12 and the passengers P1 and P2. (See FIGS. 2 and 3).

  The above-described connection between the cloth portions 47 and 48 on the vehicle outer side and the vehicle inner side is made at the peripheral edge connection portion 49. The peripheral joint part 49 connects the cloth parts 47 and 48 to each other at the peripheral part excluding the boundary part (folded part) between the cloth parts 47 and 48. A space between the cloth portions 47 and 48 and surrounded by the peripheral edge coupling portion 49 (inner space of the airbag 46) is a portion that is inflated by the inflation gas.

  In addition, the airbag 46 has a pair of cloth parts (vehicle outer cloth part 47 and vehicle inner cloth part 48) that are independent from each other in the vehicle width direction so that both cloth parts 47 and 48 are formed in a bag shape. It may be formed by bonding at their peripheral edge portions. In this case, the peripheral edge coupling portion 49 is formed by coupling the vehicle outer fabric portion 47 and the vehicle inner fabric portion 48 in an endless shape (annular shape).

  Here, in order to appropriately protect each part of the upper body PU of the occupants P1, P2 seated on the vehicle seats 13, 14, it is desirable that the airbag 46 be deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact part side of each part. . However, if the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated at a location that is too close to the upper body PU, they interfere with each other, and the deployment and inflation of the airbag 46 are hindered. On the other hand, the dimension (width) of the upper body PU in the vehicle width direction differs depending on the portion of the upper body PU. This dimension is the smallest in the head PH and generally the largest in the chest PT. Therefore, it is important to deploy and inflate the airbag 46 so as to have a shape corresponding to the dimension of the upper body PU in the vehicle width direction. This shape is a shape in which the thickness in the vehicle width direction is large at the location where the head PH is protected, and the thickness in the same direction is small at the location where the chest PT is protected. In the airbag 46 which is to be inflated with the inflation gas, the above-described shape can be realized by regulating the thickness in the vehicle width direction during inflation.

  From this point of view, in the present embodiment, the tether 51 is provided as a thickness restricting portion that restricts the thickness of the airbag 46 in the vehicle width direction when inflated. The tether 51 includes a vehicle exterior component piece 52 and a vehicle interior component piece 53 which are smaller than both the cloth portions 47 and 48 on the vehicle exterior side and vehicle interior side and are made of a rectangular cloth elongated in the substantially vertical direction. The vehicle exterior component piece 52 is overlapped from the inside of a portion that is slightly below the central portion of the vehicle exterior fabric portion 47 in the substantially vertical direction. The vehicle interior component piece 53 is overlapped from the inside of a portion that is slightly below the center portion of the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 in the substantially vertical direction. These locations are locations that are generally lateral to the chest PT in the occupants P1, P2 having a general adult physique seated on the vehicle seats 13, 14.

  The vehicle exterior component piece 52 is coupled to the vehicle exterior fabric portion 47 by the vehicle interior annular joint portion 54, and the vehicle interior component piece 53 is coupled to the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 by the vehicle interior annular joint portion 55. Has been. Both the annular inner coupling portions 54 and 55 have an oval shape that is elongated in a substantially vertical direction in a side view.

  As shown in FIG. 13, the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 are coupled to each other by a front coupling portion 56 that extends substantially in the vertical direction along their front edge portions. Further, the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 are coupled to each other by a rear coupling portion 57 that extends substantially in the vertical direction along the rear edge portion thereof.

  In the tether 51 having the above-described configuration, when the airbag 46 is deployed in a flat shape without being filled with the inflation gas (planar deployed state), the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 are The vehicle outer cloth portion 47 and the vehicle inner cloth portion 48 are overlapped with each other. In this state, the front coupling portion 56 is located at a position farther forward than the both annular inner coupling portions 54 and 55, and the rear coupling portion 57 is located farther rearward than the both annular inner coupling portions 54 and 55. To position.

  Further, when the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12A, the vehicle outer cloth portion 47 and the vehicle inner cloth portion 48 are displaced so as to move away from each other in the vehicle width direction. The annular inner coupling portion 54 that couples the vehicle exterior component piece 52 to the vehicle outer fabric portion 47 and the annular inner coupling portion 55 that couples the vehicle interior component piece 53 to the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 are also moved away from each other in the vehicle width direction. Displace. The vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 coupled to each other by the front coupling part 56 and the rear coupling part 57 are pulled toward the side away from each other in the vehicle width direction. The displacement of each of the annular inner coupling portions 54 and 55 is restricted when the vehicle outer side component piece 52 and the vehicle inner side component piece 53 are in tension. In this way, the thickness of the airbag 46 in the vehicle width direction is regulated.

  Here, the distance between each of the annular inner coupling parts 54 and 55 and the front coupling part 56 is “D1”, and the distance between each of the annular inner coupling parts 54 and 55 and the rear coupling part 57 is “D2”. And Then, at the front part of the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53, the thickness of the airbag 46 in the vehicle width direction is generally restricted to “2 · D1”. In addition, at the rear part of the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53, the thickness of the airbag 46 in the vehicle width direction is generally restricted to “2 · D2”.

  The above-described peripheral edge coupling portion 49 is formed by sewing most of the peripheral edge portions of the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 and the vehicle exterior fabric portion 47 with a thread. The annular inner coupling portion 54 on the vehicle outer side is formed by stitching the vehicle outer side configuration piece 52 to the vehicle outer fabric portion 47 with a thread. Similarly, the annular inner coupling portion 55 on the vehicle interior side is formed by sewing the vehicle interior component piece 53 to the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 with a thread. The front coupling portion 56 is formed by stitching both front edge portions of the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 with a thread, and the rear coupling portion 57 is formed of the vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53. It is formed by stitching both rear edges with a thread.

  3, 4, 5, and 13, the peripheral coupling portion 49 and the annular inner coupling portion 55 are illustrated by lines (a kind of broken lines) in which thick lines having a certain length are intermittently arranged. It should be noted that the peripheral joint portion 49, each of the annular inner joint portions 54 and 55, the front joint portion 56, and the rear joint portion 57 may be provided by means different from the sewing using the thread, for example, adhesion using an adhesive. Good.

  By the way, the airbag 46 in the flat deployed state is folded into a compact form (hereinafter referred to as “storage form”) as shown in FIG. One reason for this is to securely store the airbag 46 in a limited space in the seat back 16. It is also for making the strap 85 always in a non-relaxed state (a stretched state). This will be described later.

  The airbag 46 in the above-described storage form has a first folding part 46A, a second folding part 46B, and a third folding part 46C. A part of the first folding part 46A formed by only folding from the front to the rear of the front portion 60 of the inflator assembly 41 of the airbag 46 in the flatly deployed state shown in FIG. It is. The first folding part 46 </ b> A is located near the front of the inflator assembly 41. The second folding part 46B is formed by being folded back so as to be Z-shaped in a side view in addition to the folding for forming the first folding part 46A, and the first folding part It is located in the vicinity of the rear of 46A. The second folding part 46B is folded back and downward on the side close to the first folding part 46A, and folded back and upward on the side far from the first folding part 46A. The third folded portion 46C is formed by folding back forward and upward in addition to the above-described folding for forming the first folded portion 46A.

  The airbag 46 in a flattened state is brought into a storage form through the following steps (deformation process to an intermediate form, formation process of the second folding part 46B, and formation process of the third folding part 46C). Next, each step will be described.

<Deformation process to intermediate form>
In this step, as shown in FIG. 13, the front side portion 60 of the airbag 46 in the plane deployment state is folded bellows from the inflator assembly 41. Here, the bellows folding is one of the folding modes of the airbag 46 in which the airbag 46 is folded in order by a certain width. When the bellows is folded, a plurality of fold lines (mountain fold line 61 and valley fold line 62) extending linearly in a substantially vertical direction are set with respect to the airbag 46 in a flat deployed state. By setting the mountain fold line 61 and the valley fold line 62, the front portion 60 is partitioned into a plurality of folding parts 60A. The interval between the mountain fold line 61 and the valley fold line 62 is the folding width H1 in the bellows fold.

  Then, the airbag 46 is formed in an accordion shape in order of the folding width H1 from the front to the rear in the vicinity of the inflator assembly 41 as indicated by the arrow A along the mountain fold line 61 and the valley fold line 62. Folded. That is, the airbag 46 is folded so that the surfaces sandwiched by adjacent fold lines (mountain fold line 61, valley fold line 62) in the folded portion 60A overlap. After the folding, as shown in FIG. 14A, the plurality of folded portions 60A are stacked (bundled) in the front-rear direction, and the airbag 46 is long in the up-down direction and has dimensions in the front-rear direction. Becomes a small form (intermediate form).

<Formation process of 2nd folding part 46B>
As shown in FIG. 14 (A), in this step, the airbag 46 in the intermediate form is linear in the vehicle width direction at two points spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction with respect to the upper portion 63 of the inflator assembly 41. Fold lines 64 and 65 extending in the direction are set. In the upper part 63, the part above the fold line 64 is folded back and downward along the fold line 64. In the upper portion 63, the portion above the fold line 65 is folded back and upward along the fold line 65. As shown in FIG. 10, the two folded portions 46 </ b> B that are Z-shaped in a side view are formed near the upper rear of the first folded portion 46 </ b> A by the folding at these two places. Due to the formation of the second folded portion 46B, the vertical dimension of the airbag 46 becomes smaller than the stage (see FIGS. 14A and 14B) that has undergone the “deformation process to the intermediate configuration”.

<Formation process of 3rd folding part 46C>
In this process, in the airbag 46 (see FIGS. 14A and 14B) in the intermediate form, one fold extending substantially linearly in the vehicle width direction with respect to the lower portion 66 of the inflator assembly 41. Line 67 is set. In the lower portion 66, a portion below the fold line 67 is folded back forward and upward along the fold line 67.

Due to the formation of the third folding part 46C, the vertical dimension of the airbag 46 becomes smaller than the stage after the “formation process of the second folding part 46B”.
In addition, among the above steps, the “forming step of the second folding portion 46B” and the “forming step of the third folding portion 46C” may be performed in the reverse order.

  Thus, by performing each process, the 1st-3rd folding parts 46A-46C in FIG. 10 are formed, and the airbag 46 is made into the accommodation form. The airbag 46 in the storage form has a small size both in the front-rear direction and in the vertical direction, and is suitable for storage in the side portion 19 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) of the seat back 16 on the vehicle interior side. Become.

  And the airbag 46 of the said storage form is bundled with the binding tape (not shown) in multiple places. The first to third folding parts 46A to 46C are held in a folded state by these binding tapes.

  In addition to the airbag 46 and the inflator assembly 41 described above, each airbag device 40 receives the airbag 46 that has been deployed and inflated as shown in FIGS. The support mechanism 70 which regulates the excessive displacement of is provided. The support mechanism 70 includes a bracket 71 and a support plate 77. Next, each of these members will be described.

<Bracket 71>
Each of the brackets 71 includes an outer plate portion 72, an inner plate portion 73, and a connecting plate portion 74 that are formed of a highly rigid plate material such as a metal plate. The outer side plate portion 72 is disposed in the side portion 19 on the inner side of the seat back 16 and adjacent to the inner side of the side frame portion 17A (see FIG. 6). The outer plate part 72 has a rectangular plate shape that is longer in the vertical direction than in the front-rear direction. In the outer plate 72, bolt insertion holes 75 are formed at two locations spaced apart from each other in the vertical direction (in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7, only one bolt insertion hole 75 is shown).

  The inner side plate part 73 is disposed in parallel to the outer side plate part 72 at a location spaced a predetermined distance from the outer side plate part 72 toward the vehicle interior side. The inner plate portion 73 has a shape that is longer in the vertical direction than in the front-rear direction. In the present embodiment, the inner plate part 73 is formed in a shape different from the outer plate part 72. The inner plate portion 73 has a support portion 73A having an arcuate outer shape. In the support portion 73A, an arcuate guide hole 76 having the same center as its center is formed near the lower part of the center.

<Support plate 77>
The support plate 77 is for receiving the inflated airbag 46 that is pressed by the occupants P1 and P2 that move to the impact location side in response to an impact caused by a side collision, and is elongated by a highly rigid plate material such as a metal plate. It is formed into a shape. The base end portion 77B of the support plate 77 has an arcuate outer shape. The support plate 77 is rotatably supported by a shaft 78 with respect to the support portion 73A of the inner plate portion 73 at the center of the base end portion 77B. In the base end portion 77B of the support plate 77, a pin 79 is fixed at a location displaced from the center thereof. A part of the pin 79 protrudes inward from the support plate 77 and is movably inserted into the guide hole 76.

  The support plate 77 can be displaced between a storage position indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIGS. 6 and 7 and a protruding position indicated by a solid line in FIGS. 6 and 7 by rotating about the shaft 78 as a fulcrum. The storage position is a position taken by the support plate 77 before the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, and is set in the side portion 19 on the vehicle interior side of the seat back 16. In the storage position, the support plate 77 is in an upright state with the distal end portion 77T positioned substantially above the proximal end portion 77B. And this support plate 77 is latched by the airbag 46 of the storage form with the binding tape mentioned above. The rotation toward the protruding position of the support plate 77 is possible by breaking the binding tape.

  The protruding position is a position taken by the support plate 77 when the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, and is set in the vicinity of the impact location side (the vehicle inner side) of the airbag 46 in order to receive the airbag 46 in the deployed and inflated state. Has been. The support plate 77 protrudes toward the front of the vehicle 10 from the seat back 16 in a state where the base end portion 77B remains in the seat back 16 at the protruding position, and to the side of the chest PT of the passengers P1 and P2. Thus, the front side is inclined so as to be higher.

  The pin 79 is located at the front end of the guide hole 76 in the storage position. The front end wall surface of the guide hole 76 restricts the support plate 77 from rotating further rearward and downward. Moreover, the pin 79 is located in the rear-end part of the guide hole 76 in a protrusion position (refer FIG.6 and FIG.7). The rear end wall surface of the guide hole 76 restricts the support plate 77 from rotating further forward and downward.

  Between the base end portion 77B and the distal end portion 77T of the support plate 77 and in the vicinity of one side edge portion (left side in FIGS. 6 and 7) of the support plate 77, along the side edge portion. The slit 81 is opened.

  In the support mechanism 70 having the above configuration, the guide hole 76 (particularly, the inner wall of the rear end portion) and the pin 79 correspond to a rotation restricting portion that restricts the support plate 77 from rotating beyond the protruding position.

  Each airbag device 40 includes an interlocking mechanism for displacing (rotating) the support plate 77 toward the protruding position in conjunction with the deployment and expansion of the airbag 46. This interlocking mechanism includes a strap 85 that is spanned between a lower portion of the airbag 46 and a position on the tip side of the shaft 78 of the support plate 77. The strap 85 is made of a flexible material. The strap 85 is desirably formed of a material that does not stretch, but may be formed of a material that stretches to such an extent that the rotation of the support plate 77 is not affected. As such a material, for example, a closely woven fabric is suitable.

  One end portion (front lower end portion in FIG. 6) 85A of the strap 85 is overlapped on the outer peripheral edge portion of the airbag 46 from the vehicle inner side with respect to a position that becomes the lower end portion when the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated. Are combined. In the present embodiment, the end portion 85 </ b> A of the strap 85 is stitched together with the outer fabric portion 47 and the inner fabric portion 48 of the airbag 46 at a part of the peripheral edge coupling portion 49 described above.

  The other end portion (rear upper end portion in FIG. 6) 85B of the strap 85 is inserted through the slit 81 of the support plate 77 and is turned forward. The folded portion is overlapped and joined to the other portion of the strap 85. In this embodiment, this connection is made by stitching using a thread.

  The strap 85 is bonded to the airbag 46 before the formation of the third folded portion 46C. Further, the position of the slit 81 in the height direction is higher when the support plate 77 is positioned at the storage position than when it is positioned at the protruding position. The same applies to the connecting portion (end portion 85B) of the strap 85 to the support plate 77. Accordingly, the position in the height direction of the connecting portion (end portion 85A) of the strap 85 to the airbag 46 also needs to be higher when the support plate 77 is positioned at the storage position than when it is positioned at the protruding position. is there. For this reason, the lower portion of the airbag 46 is folded back to form the third folded portion 46C, so that the connecting portion (end portion 85A) of the strap 85 to the airbag 46 is raised. In this way, by folding back the lower portion of the airbag 46, the strap 85 spanned between the support plate 77 and the lower portion of the airbag 46 is always in a non-relaxed state (strained regardless of the position of the support plate 77). State). By adopting such a configuration, the support plate 77 is pulled toward the protruding position through the strap 85 from an early timing after the start of expansion and expansion of the third folding portion 46C.

  The airbag 46 in the above-described storage form is stored in the side portion 19 on the vehicle interior side of the seat back 16 as follows. As shown in FIG. 9, the storage-type airbag 46 is disposed between the outer plate portion 72 and the inner plate portion 73 of the bracket 71 at the rear portion of the inflator assembly 41 that is stored. The two bolts 45 of the retainer 44 inserted into the rear portion of the airbag 46 are inserted into the bolt insertion holes 75 and the side frame portions 17A of the outer plate 72 in the bracket 71, respectively. By fastening the nut 86 to each bolt 45, the bracket 71 is fixed to the side frame portion 17A, and the rear portion of the airbag 46 and the inflator assembly 41 are fixed to the bracket 71.

The bracket 71 may be integrally formed with the side frame portion 17A. Further, the side frame portion 17 </ b> A itself may also serve as the bracket 71.
Further, the retainer 44 may be fixed to the bracket 71 by a member different from the bolt 45 and the nut 86 described above.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 12B, a support plate that is displaced to the protruding position when the airbag 46 is in an inflated state is provided at a location on the impact location side of the airbag 46 in a deployed and inflated state. A concave portion 90 is provided in which the distal end portion 77T of 77 can enter.

  Here, in general, the airbag 46 tends to be inflated with an inflating gas. For this reason, when the thickness restriction portion such as the tether 51 is provided in the airbag 46, the deployed airbag 46 has the smallest thickness at the connection portion with the thickness restriction portion. Further, in the vicinity of the connection location, the thickness of the airbag 46 increases as the distance from the connection location increases.

  Focusing on this, in the present embodiment in which the tether 51 for regulating the thickness of the airbag 46 at the time of inflation is provided, the airbag 46 is connected to the thickness regulating portion (the location where the thickness is minimized). An annular inner coupling portion 55) on the inner side of the vehicle is the bottom 91 of the recess 90. Further, in the airbag 46, a portion that is in the vicinity of the connection location (the annular inner coupling portion 55 on the vehicle inner side) and expands thicker than the connection location (the annular inner coupling portion 55) is the inner wall portion 92 of the recess 90. Has been.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the side airbag device 30 and the airbag device 40 described above further include impact sensors 95 and 96 including an acceleration sensor and a control device 97 as common components. One impact sensor 95 is provided on the body side portion 21 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) and the like, and detects an impact applied to the body side portion 21 from the side. The other impact sensor 96 is provided on the body side portion 22 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) and the like, and detects an impact applied to the body side portion 22 from the side. The control device 97 controls each operation of the inflator 32 of the side airbag device 30 and the inflator 42 of the airbag device 40 based on signals from the impact sensors 95 and 96.

Next, the operation of the present embodiment configured as described above will be described.
In a normal state in which impact due to a side collision or the like is not applied to the vehicle 10, in the airbag device 40, the airbag 46 is configured to be stored as shown in FIGS. It continues to be stored in the side portion 19 inside the vehicle. At this time, the airbag 46 has not yet been deployed and inflated. Therefore, the strap 85 is not subjected to a pulling force accompanying the deployment and inflation of the airbag 46, and a force for rotating the support plate 77 toward the protruding position is not generated. The support plate 77 continues to be located at the storage position in the same side portion 19. Therefore, the airbag 46 and the support plate 77 do not obstruct the operation of the passengers P1 and P2 in the passenger compartment 11 and do not impair the appearance.

  One of the vehicle seats 13 and 14 in the juxtaposed direction (vehicle width direction) with respect to the vehicle 10 due to a side collision under the situation where the passengers P1 and P2 are seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14, respectively. An impact may be applied from one to the other. Hereinafter, a case where an impact is applied to one body side portion 21 from the direction (right side) indicated by the solid arrow in FIGS. 1 and 2 will be described as an example. Thus, when an impact due to a side collision or the like is applied to one body side portion 21, the body side portion 21 tends to be deformed inwardly of the passenger compartment 11 (the other body side portion 22 side).

  In the present embodiment in which the pair of vehicle seats 13 and 14 are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction, the vehicle seat 13 on the right side in FIGS. Corresponds to “vehicle seat closest to vehicle impact location”. Further, the left vehicle seat 14 in FIGS. 1 and 2 corresponds to “another vehicle seat excluding the vehicle seat closest to the impact location” in the claims.

  In addition, due to the impact, an inertial force toward the impact location side (the body side portion 21 side) acts on the passengers P1 and P2 seated on the vehicle seats 13 and 14, respectively. Due to this inertial force, each of the occupants P1, P2 tends to move to the impact location side (the body side portion 21 side).

  On the other hand, when it is detected by the impact sensor 95 that an impact of a predetermined value or more has been applied to the body side portion 21, from the control device 97, the inflator 32 of the side airbag device 30 and the airbag device 40 are detected. A command signal for operating them is output to the inflator 42 (see FIG. 3). In response to this command signal, the inflation gas is supplied from the inflator 32 to the airbag 31 and the inflation gas is supplied from the gas ejection portion 43 of the inflator 42 to the airbag 46.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the occupant P <b> 1 sitting on the vehicle seat 13 on the impact location side (right side) and moving to the impact location side is protected by the side airbag device 30. The airbag 31 jumps forward from the seat back 16 in a state where a part of the airbag 31 remains in the side portion 18 on the vehicle exterior side of the seat back 16. Thereafter, the airbag 31 is inflated forward through the space between the occupant P1 and the body side portion 21. Even if the occupant P1 tries to move toward the impact location (body side portion 21) due to the impact, the occupant P1 is received by the inflated airbag 31. At the time of receiving, the airbag 31 is pressed by the occupant P1 toward the impact location. With this pressing force, the airbag 31 tries to rotate toward the impact location with the rear end portion, which is a fixed location, as a fulcrum, but the rotation is restricted by hitting the body side portion 21.

  Further, the airbag 31 in an inflated state as described above is interposed between the body side portion 21 deformed into the passenger compartment 11 due to a side collision or the like and the occupant P1, so that the occupant P1 is in contact with the body side portion 21. Contact with the air bag 31 is suppressed by the airbag 31.

  In contrast, the occupant P2 seated on the vehicle seat 14 on the far side (left side) from the impact location and moving to the impact location side is protected by the airbag device 40 as follows. In the airbag device 40, basically, each part of the airbag 46 is inflated by the supplied inflation gas, and the folded state is canceled in the reverse order of the folded order. This is because the portion folded later restricts the cancellation of the folded state of the portion folded first.

  Here, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, since the inflator 42 is disposed with the gas ejection part 43 positioned on the lower side, the expansion gas ejected from the gas ejection part 43 Is first supplied to the lower end portion of the first folding portion 46 </ b> A and the third folding portion 46 </ b> C, which are the vicinity of the gas ejection portion 43. The folding of the third folding portion 46C in the forward and upward direction is performed after the folding from the front to the rear for the deformation to the intermediate form. Therefore, in the airbag 46 of the storage form shown in FIG.10 and FIG.15, the state by which the 3rd folding part 46C was folded back is cancelled | released. At the time of this cancellation, the third folding portion 46C is accompanied by rotation toward the front and lower sides with the folding line 67 as a fulcrum (see arrow B in FIG. 15).

  In addition, the second folding for forming the second folding portion 46B is performed after the folding from the front to the rear for the deformation to the intermediate form. Further, the second folding portion 46B is farther from the gas ejection portion 43 of the inflator 42 than the third folding portion 46C. For these reasons, the portion above the inflator 42 (second folding portion 46B) is deployed while canceling the folded state after the cancellation of the folded state of the third folding portion 46C.

  By eliminating the folded state, the air bag 46 is bound and the binding tape held in the folded state is broken. By this breakage, the support plate 77 can be rotated forward and downward with the shaft 78 as a fulcrum.

  The airbag 46 continues to inflate while eliminating the folded state of the first folding portion 46A. The airbag 46 breaks the seat back 16 in the process of inflating (deploying and inflating) with this deployment, and jumps out to the front of the seat back 16 with a part of the airbag 46 remaining in the side portion 19 on the vehicle interior side. Thereafter, the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location side (right side in FIGS. 1 and 2) of the occupant P2.

  During this deployment and inflation, as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12A, the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 and the vehicle exterior fabric portion 47 are displaced by the inflation gas so as to move away from each other in the vehicle width direction. To do. The annular inner coupling portion 54 that couples the vehicle exterior component piece 52 to the vehicle outer fabric portion 47 and the annular inner coupling portion 55 that couples the vehicle interior component piece 53 to the vehicle interior fabric portion 48 are also moved away from each other in the vehicle width direction. Displace. The vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 coupled to each other by the front coupling part 56 and the rear coupling part 57 are pulled toward the side away from each other in the vehicle width direction. The displacement of each of the annular inner coupling portions 54 and 55 is restricted when the vehicle outer side component piece 52 and the vehicle inner side component piece 53 are in tension.

  Among the upper body PU of the occupant P2, the dimension in the vehicle width direction is the largest in the chest PT, but the thickness in the vehicle width direction is reduced at the location on the side of the chest PT in the airbag 46 due to the above-described restriction. Therefore, the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact location side to be protected by the occupant P2 without interfering with the chest PT.

On the other hand, the upper body PU of the occupant P2 moves to the impact location side as described above with the impact.
In the upper body PU of the occupant P2, the dimension in the vehicle width direction is the smallest in the head PH, but the thickness in the vehicle width direction is increased at a location on the side of the head PH in the airbag 46. The same part is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the head PH, and the amount of movement to the impact part side until the head PH hits the airbag 46 is reduced. In other words, the head PH starts to be restrained by the airbag 46 before it is displaced so much toward the impact location.

If the upper body PU tries to continue moving after contacting the airbag 46, a pressing force toward the impact location is applied to the airbag 46.
At this time, assuming that there is nothing to catch the airbag 46 in the deployed and inflated state on the impact location side, the airbag 46 rotates to the impact location side with the rear end portion being its fixed end as a fulcrum, There is a risk of bending (bending).

  However, in this embodiment, the deployment force of the airbag 46 during deployment and inflation is used for the operation of the support plate 77. That is, as the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated, as shown in FIG. 6, the connection portion (the end portion 85 </ b> A of the strap 85) of the airbag 46 with the strap 85 is displaced. The strap 85 is pulled along with the displacement of the connection portion (end portion 85 </ b> A), and the support plate 77 is pulled through the strap 85.

  By the above pulling, the support plate 77 is interlocked with the expansion and inflation of the airbag 46, and the shaft 78 of its own base end portion 77B is rotated as a fulcrum as shown by the arrow C in FIG. It is displaced from the storage position (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 6) toward the protruding position (see the solid line in FIG. 6). With this displacement, the pin 79 protruding from the support plate 77 moves in the guide hole 76 of the bracket 71 (see FIG. 7). When the support plate 77 reaches the protruding position, the pin 79 contacts the inner wall of the rear end portion of the guide hole 76. By this contact, the support plate 77 is restricted from rotating beyond the protruding position to the side opposite to the storage position (downward).

  By the way, when the rotation is restricted as described above, the support plate 77 once displaced to the protruding position tries to rotate toward the storage position side by the reaction when the pin 79 hits the inner wall of the rear end portion of the guide hole 76. .

  However, in the present embodiment, the concave portion 90 shown in FIG. 12B is formed at a location on the impact location side of the airbag 46 during deployment and inflation. For the airbag 46, a connection portion (an annular inner coupling portion 55 on the vehicle inner side) with the thickness regulating portion, which is a portion where the thickness is minimized, is used as the bottom portion 91 of the recess 90. In addition, the airbag 46 is used as the inner wall portion 92 of the recess 90 in the vicinity of the connection location (the annular inner coupling portion 55 inside the vehicle) and inflated thicker than the connection location.

  The support plate 77 enters the recess 90. The inner wall 92 of the recess 90 elastically contacts the support plate 77 that has entered the recess 90, thereby restricting the displacement of the support plate 77. The object of this regulation is mainly the rotation of the support plate 77 toward the storage position, but naturally the rotation of the support plate 77 toward the side opposite to the storage position is also the object of regulation. The support plate 77 is in a state where its rotation is restricted to the storage position side and the non-storage position side, that is, a positioned state.

  In the projecting position, the support plate 77 is located on the impact location side of the airbag 46, that is, in the vicinity of the side opposite to the vehicle seat 14 and the occupant P2 across the airbag 46. As a result, even if the airbag 46 is pressed by the occupant P2 that moves to the impact location side due to the impact, the airbag 46 is received by the support plate 77, and displacement to the impact location side is restricted. It is suppressed that the occupant P2 moves to the impact location side and comes into contact with the adjacent occupant P1 and the vehicle seat 13, the body side portion 21 that is deformed by the impact, or enters the inside of the vehicle.

  Further, the lower portion (portion 46L) of the airbag 46 is deployed and inflated between the occupant P2 and the center console 12, as shown in FIGS. The center console 12 receives the portion 46L of the airbag 46 from the impact location side and restricts further displacement to the impact location side. Since the center console 12 is restricted, the displacement of the airbag 46 and the occupant P2 toward the impact location is more reliably regulated than when the airbag 46 is simply received by the support plate 77.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) A recess 90 is provided at a location on the impact location side of the airbag 46, in which the support plate 77 displaced to the protruding position enters when the airbag 46 is in an inflated state (FIG. 12B). . Therefore, the support plate 77 displaced to the protruding position can be stably held at the protruding position with a simple configuration. As a result, the support plate 77 can reliably exhibit the function of receiving the airbag 46 in the inflated state.

  (2) Focusing on the fact that the airbag 46 is provided with a tether 51 that regulates the thickness of the airbag 46 when inflated, the annular inner coupling portion 55, which is the location where the thickness is minimum, It is used as the bottom 91 of the recess 90. Further, a portion that is in the vicinity of the annular inner coupling portion 55 and expands thicker than the annular inner coupling portion 55 is used as the inner wall portion 92 of the concave portion 90 (FIG. 12B). Therefore, it is not necessary to provide a special structure for forming the recess 90.

  (3) If the airbag 46 is received by the support plate 77 on the side of the lower end portion (waist portion PP) of the upper body PU, the upper body PU may be inclined so as to approach the impact location as it moves upward. This is because there is nothing to catch the airbag 46 on the side above the lower end (waist PP) of the upper body PU. In this regard, in the present embodiment, the tether 51 and thus the recess 90 are provided in the airbag 46 on the side of the chest PT located in the middle portion of the upper body PU in the vertical direction (FIG. 2).

  For this reason, unlike the case where the airbag 46 is received by the support plate 77 on the side of the lower end portion (waist portion PP) of the upper body PU, the upper body PU is inclined so as to be closer to the impact point on the upper side. It can suppress efficiently by the support plate 77 positioned by the recessed part 90 by the side.

  (4) The structure which supports the support plate 77 rotatably by the axis | shaft 78 provided in the base end part 77B is employ | adopted (FIG. 6, FIG. 7). For this reason, the support plate 77 can be displaced from the storage position to the protruding position by rotating the support plate 77 with the shaft 78 as a fulcrum while having such a simple configuration.

  (5) Although related to (1) above, a rotation restricting portion (guide hole 76, pin 79) for restricting the support plate 77 from rotating beyond the protruding position is provided (FIGS. 6 and 7). Therefore, even if the support plate 77 once displaced to the protruding position is rotated to the storage position side due to the reaction of the rotation restriction by the rotation restriction portion, the rotation can be reliably restricted by the recess 90.

  (6) A strap 85 is bridged between the airbag 46 and a position closer to the tip than the shaft 78 of the support plate 77 (FIG. 6). Therefore, while having such a simple configuration, the support plate 77 can be displaced toward the protruding position in conjunction with the deployment and inflation of the airbag 46.

  (7) The airbag 46 is provided with a portion 46L that is deployed and inflated between the passengers P1, P2 and the center console 12 (FIGS. 2 and 3). Therefore, the displacement of the airbag 46 and the occupants P1, P2 toward the impact location can be more reliably suppressed than when the airbag 46 is received only by the support plate 77.

Note that the present invention can be embodied in another embodiment described below.
<About support plate 77>
The support plate 77 may be displaced from the storage position toward the protruding position by performing an operation other than rotation.

  The support plate 77 may be disposed outside the vehicle seats 13 and 14. The place where the support plate 77 is disposed may be a place where it does not interfere with the occupants P1 and P2 at the normal time when impact due to a side collision or the like is not applied.

<About airbag 46>
The airbag 46 is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of the impact target side of the protection target with the chest PT and at least the part adjacent to the chest PT among the upper body PUs of the passengers P1 and P2 taking the sitting posture. Anything to do. As a part adjacent to the chest PT, there are an abdomen, a waist PP and the like in addition to the head PH.

  The airbag 46 may be accommodated in a location different from that of the above embodiment on the condition that “the vicinity of the impact location of the passengers P1 and P2”. This part may be a part different from the seat back 16 in the vehicle seats 13, 14, for example, the seat cushion 15.

  -You may fold the airbag 46 by the folding method different from the said embodiment, and you may make it the form for storage. Examples of such folding methods include roll folding, middle folding (cactus folding), and the like other than those described above.

<About the recess 90>
In the above embodiment, the connection portion (the annular inner coupling portion 55) and the vicinity thereof with the thickness regulating portion (tether 51) in the airbag 46 and the vicinity thereof are used as the concave portion 90. The recess 90 may be separately provided. In this case, the thickness regulating portion (tether 51) is not an essential configuration in that the concave portion 90 is formed.

  -In the above-mentioned embodiment, it may replace with tether 51 and may constitute a thickness regulation part with a seam. The seam joins the outer cloth portion 47 and the inner cloth portion 48 in contact with each other, and is constituted by, for example, a thread that stitches both the cloth portions 47 and 48 together. In this case, the portion joined by the seam in the airbag 46 constitutes the bottom portion 91 of the concave portion 90, and the vicinity of the same portion constitutes the inner wall portion 92 of the concave portion 90. The vehicle exterior component piece 52 and the vehicle interior component piece 53 are not used.

<Application object of the airbag device 40>
The airbag device 40 may be applied to the rear vehicle seat (rear seat) of the vehicle 10, or the front vehicle seats 13 and 14 (front seat) and the rear vehicle seat (rear seat). You may apply to both. When applied to the rear vehicle seat (rear seat), the body side parts 21 and 22 corresponding to the vehicle seat (rear seat) are the rear part of the side door (rear door), the C pillar, the front part of the tire house, It becomes a rear quarter.

  -The airbag apparatus 40 of this invention is applicable also to the vehicle 10 by which the vehicle seats 13 and 14 of three or more seats were arranged in parallel in the vehicle width direction. In this case, the airbag device 40 has the vehicle seats 13 and 14 closest to the impact location of the vehicle 10 when an impact is applied to the vehicle 10 from one side to the other side of the vehicle seats 13 and 14 in the juxtaposed direction. This is applied to other vehicle seats 13 and 14 except for.

  The airbag device 40 of the present invention is configured so that when the passengers P1 and P2 are seated, the vehicle seats 13 and 14 are directed in a direction different from the front-rear direction of the vehicle 10, for example, a direction orthogonal to the vehicle (the vehicle width direction). The present invention is also applicable to the arranged vehicle 10. In this case, when an impact is applied to the vehicle 10 from the front or the rear, the impact is an impact directed from one side to the other in the side-by-side direction.

  The present invention can be widely applied to an airbag device that is disposed in a place where there is nothing to catch the deployed and inflated airbag 46 from the impact location side. For example, a curtain shield airbag device in an open car.

<Others>
In the above-described embodiment, the strap 85 is used as the means for displacing the airbag toward the protruding position in conjunction with the deployment and expansion of the airbag. However, other means such as a spring or explosive may be used.

In addition, the technical ideas that can be grasped from the respective embodiments will be described together with their effects.
(A) In the airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 8, the airbag and the support plate are configured so that the vehicle seat is the same as the vehicle seat before the airbag is deployed and inflated. The passenger is seated in a side portion on the impact location side.

  According to the above configuration, the airbag and the support plate are housed in the side portion of the vehicle seat at normal times when no impact is applied to the vehicle. Therefore, these airbags and support plates do not get in the way of passengers and do not impair the appearance. When an impact is applied to the vehicle due to a collision or the like and it is necessary to protect the occupant from the impact, the airbag is inflated and deployed in the vicinity of the occupant's impact location, and the support plate is the impact location of the airbag. Displaces near the side.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Vehicle, 12 ... Center console (console), 13, 14 ... Vehicle seat, 40 ... Air bag device, 46 ... Air bag, 46L ... part, 51 ... Tether (thickness regulating part), 76 ... Guide hole (rotation) (Restriction part), 77 ... support plate, 78 ... shaft, 79 ... pin (rotation restriction part), 85 ... strap, 90 ... recess, 91 ... bottom part, 92 ... inner wall part, P1, P2 ... occupant, PT ... chest part, PU ... the upper body.

Claims (8)

An airbag that is deployed and inflated in the vicinity of an impact location of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat in response to an impact applied from the side of the vehicle seat to a vehicle on which the vehicle seat is disposed,
Before the airbag is deployed and inflated, the airbag is stored in the stowed position, and when the airbag is deployed and inflated, in conjunction with the deployment and inflation, toward the projecting position set near the impact location of the airbag. An airbag device comprising: a support plate that is displaced; and the airbag in an inflated state that is pressed by an occupant moving toward the impact location in response to the impact is received by the support plate displaced to the protruding position. There,
The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a concave portion into which the support plate displaced to the protruding position enters when the airbag is in an inflated state is provided at a location on the impact location side of the airbag. The vehicle is provided with a plurality of vehicle seats,
The occupant to be protected by the airbag excludes the vehicle seat closest to the impact location of the vehicle when an impact is applied from one side of the plurality of vehicle seats to the other side in the juxtaposed direction. The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag device is an occupant seated on another vehicle seat. The airbag is provided with a thickness regulating portion that regulates the thickness of the airbag during deployment and inflation,
The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a connection portion with the thickness regulating portion constitutes a bottom portion of the concave portion and a vicinity of the connection portion constitutes an inner wall portion of the concave portion. The airbag is intended to protect the chest of the occupant's upper body seated on the vehicle seat, and at least a portion adjacent to the chest, and is inflated in the vicinity of the impact location of the protection target.
The airbag apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the thickness regulating part regulates a thickness of a portion of the airbag corresponding to a chest of an occupant seated on the vehicle seat. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the support plate is displaced from the storage position to the protruding position by rotating about a shaft. The airbag apparatus according to claim 5, further comprising a rotation restricting portion that restricts the support plate from rotating beyond the protruding position. The airbag apparatus according to claim 5 or 6, wherein a strap is bridged between the airbag and the support plate. In the vehicle, a console is disposed in the vicinity of the impact location side of the vehicle seat,
The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has a portion that expands and inflates between the occupant and the console.

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