JPH04303051A - Air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To provide such an air bag unit that has sufficient compressive strength against the unfolding force of an air bag, while it is able to absorb an impact at time of a rider collision without securing a sufficient buffer space between an air bag lid and the air bag unit, whereby the degree of freedom in design of setting relations of the form of an instrument and in the inner part is improvable. CONSTITUTION:An air bag case 11 is supported on a steering member 3 via a mounting bracket 4, and this mounting bracket is formed into a cantilever support structure having such a strength as being deformed to more excessive input than reaction at time of air bag unfolding forward the car from the air bag case, although it has strength as far as undeformed to the reaction at time of air bag unfolding.

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

0001

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device for protecting occupants in the event of a vehicle collision.

0002

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, such an air bag device is known, for example, as described in Japanese Unexamined Utility Model Publication No. 2-129950.

[0003] In this conventional device, an airbag device is provided inside an airbag lid attached to an instrument panel, and in this airbag device, an airbag case containing the airbag is firmly attached to the vehicle body through a bracket. It was installed.

0004

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, such conventional airbag devices have the following problems.

In other words, if a vehicle crashes while driving at such low speed that the airbag system does not activate, there is a risk that an occupant will collide with the instrument panel due to inertial force. (Including the airbag lid part installed in the instrument panel) itself is required to have shock absorption ability (incidentally, this is legal in North America).

However, when an airbag device is installed inside the airbag lid of this instrument panel, as mentioned above, the conventional airbag device is firmly supported by the vehicle body, so the airbag lid and air It is necessary to secure a sufficient buffer space between the airbag device and the airbag device, which reduces the space within the vehicle interior and limits the degree of freedom in installing the airbag device. In addition, when the distance between the airbag device and the airbag lid increases, the degree of expansion when the airbag device opens the airbag lid increases, and the airbag lid also becomes larger.

[0007]In addition, since the inside of the instrument panel has a lot of wiring for air conditioner ducts, instrument wiring, etc., it is desirable to have a high degree of freedom in designing these.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned conventional problems, and has sufficient pressure resistance against the deployment force of the airbag, as well as sufficient cushioning between the airbag lid and the airbag device. To provide an airbag device capable of absorbing the impact when an occupant collides without securing space, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in designing the shape of an instrument panel and internal handling. The purpose is to

[0009]

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above-mentioned objects, the airbag device of the present invention has an airbag system installed in an airbag case provided in an instrument panel. In an airbag device that is sometimes deployed using high-pressure gas, the airbag case is supported by the vehicle body via a bracket, and the bracket has a strength that will not be deformed by deployment reaction force when the airbag is deployed. The means is formed in a support structure that has the strength to deform in response to an input greater than the deployment reaction force toward the front of the vehicle.

0010

[Effect] If the vehicle collides while driving at such low speeds that the airbag device does not activate (for example, 20 km/h or less) and the occupant collides with the instrument panel, the airbag lid will first be damaged. The airbag is deformed toward the airbag device, and then an impact is applied to the airbag case. Therefore, the impact input to the airbag case deforms the bracket toward the front of the vehicle, and this deformation absorbs the impact.

[0011] In this way, since the impact is absorbed by the bracket that supports the airbag case, even if sufficient buffer space is not secured between the airbag lid and the airbag device, the impact will be absorbed when the occupant is involved in a collision. The impact can be sufficiently alleviated. Therefore, the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the instrument panel and internal layout is increased.

[0012] If the vehicle collides and the airbag device is activated when the vehicle is traveling at a medium or high speed above a predetermined vehicle speed (20 km/h), the airbag housed in the airbag case will be rapidly deployed by high-pressure gas. be done. At this time, the reaction force of the airbag's deployment force is input to the bracket through the airbag case, but the bracket is formed to be strong enough not to be deformed by the reaction force of this deployment force, so there is no problem with its operation. .

[0013]

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

First, the configuration of the embodiment will be explained. Figure 1 shows
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 indicates an airbag module. This airbag module 1 is provided with a distance H secured inside an airbag lid 2 that constitutes a part of an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat. That is, the airbag module 1 includes an airbag case 11 forming an outer shell, an airbag (not shown) stored in the airbag case 11 in a folded state, and an airbag attached to the airbag case 11 to carry the air. It consists of an inflator (not shown) that supplies high-pressure gas to the bag. The airbag lid 2 is formed in a laminated structure of an aluminum core material 21, a urethane foam material 22, and a vinyl chloride material 23, and is provided to close an opening of an instrument panel (not shown), It is installed so that it can be opened toward the interior of the vehicle.

[0015]The airbag module 1 has the following features:
As shown in the exploded perspective view of FIG. 3, with respect to the support brackets 31, 31 fixed to the steering member 3 of the vehicle body,
It is attached via mounting brackets 4, 4. That is, the mounting bracket 4 is formed in an L-shape as shown in the figure, and the portion on the L-shaped long piece 41 side is fastened to the left and right sides of the airbag case 11 with bolts 51, and
It is attached to the fixed bracket 31 in a cantilevered manner with bolts 52 and nuts 53. In addition, a steel plate with a thickness of 2 mm is used as the mounting bracket 4, that is,
The cantilever support structure is strong enough to withstand the impact of deploying the airbag without being deformed, yet is strong enough to bend and deform toward the front of the vehicle in response to excessive input to the front of the vehicle, as shown in Figure 2. It is composed of

In FIGS. 1 and 2, reference numeral 5 indicates a model assuming an occupant on the passenger seat side.

Next, the operation of the embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 1.

(a) When driving at low speeds (20km/h)
(below) If the vehicle collides while driving and the occupant (denoted by model 5) collides with the instrument panel, including the airbag lid 2 part, due to inertia as shown in Figure 1,
First, the airbag lid 2 strokes by the distance H and hits the airbag module 1. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the first stage of shock absorption is achieved by the stroke (H) due to the deformation of the airbag lid 2. Incidentally, FIG. 4 is a diagram showing the impact load characteristics with respect to the stroke, where the solid line shows the characteristics of this embodiment, and the one-dot chain line shows the characteristics when the mounting bracket is strong and does not deform even under excessive loads.

If the impact of the collision of the occupant cannot be absorbed by this, the impact is input to the mounting bracket 4 through the airbag case 11, and the mounting bracket 4
It bends and deforms as shown in FIG. This mounting bracket 4
The stroke caused by the deformation of the cylinder further absorbs the impact.

(b) During medium/high speed driving If the vehicle collides and the airbag device is activated when the vehicle is traveling at a medium/high speed above a predetermined vehicle speed (20 km/h), the airbag device must be folded into the airbag case 11 until then. The airbag that had been installed was rapidly deployed by high-pressure gas, and airbag lid 2
Push it open, protrude into the passenger compartment, and deploy it toward the passenger in the passenger seat.

When the airbag is deployed in this way, the reaction force of the deployment force is input to the mounting bracket 4, but the mounting bracket 4 has sufficient strength to withstand the reaction force of the deployment force of the airbag. Because it is formed in such a way that it does not deform, there is no problem with the unfolding operation.

As explained above, the airbag device of the first embodiment has sufficient strength against the deployment force of the airbag, and also has sufficient strength against the reaction force of the deployment force of the airbag when an occupant collides with the airbag. Since the airbag case 11 is supported by a cantilever support structure using the mounting brackets 4, 4, which are set to have a strength that deforms in response to excessive input, a sufficient buffer space is secured between the airbag lid 2 and the airbag device. It is possible to protect the occupants by absorbing the impact in the event of a collision. For this reason, the effect of increasing the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the instrument panel and its internal layout can be achieved.

Next, a second embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 to 8 will be described. Note that the same components as those in the first embodiment are given the same reference numerals, and the description thereof will be omitted.

The second embodiment differs in the shape of the mounting bracket from the first embodiment. That is, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 8, the mounting bracket 6 of the second embodiment has opposing pieces 61 and 62 arranged to face each other, and opposing pieces 61 and 6.
The airbag module 1 is fixed to the opposing piece 61, and the mounting piece 64 is attached to a support bracket. It is fixed at 31. Then, the airbag module 1 has a distance from the airbag lid 2 of H1.
as close as possible.

Therefore, when an occupant collides with the instrument panel and an excessive load is input to the airbag module 1 in the forward direction of the vehicle, the airbag lid 2 During the first stroke of H1 before colliding with the airbag module 1, the characteristics are the same as when the airbag module 1 is firmly attached, but as shown in FIG.
At the bent portion on one side, the tip of the opposing piece 61 bends and deforms until it comes into contact with the other opposing piece 62, thereby absorbing shock during the stroke H2 (see Fig. 9). . Further, the bent portion on the other side of the connecting piece 63 and the bent portion on one side of the mounting piece 64 are connected to the opposing piece 62.
Shock absorption is achieved during the stroke H3 by bending and deforming until it abuts against the steering member 3 (see FIG. 9). By absorbing the impact as described above, the same effects as in the first embodiment can be obtained. In addition, the curvature of the bent portion on one side of the connecting piece 63 and the curvature of the bent portion on the other side, and the curvature of the bent portion on one side of the mounting piece 64 may be made different, or a reinforcing bead may be provided. It is also possible to change the shock absorption mode by changing the strength.

Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described above in detail with reference to the drawings, the specific configuration is not limited to these embodiments, and design changes may be made without departing from the gist of the present invention. Included in the present invention.

[0027]

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the airbag device of the present invention, the airbag case is supported by the vehicle body via the bracket, and the bracket is not deformed by the reaction force when the airbag is deployed. Although the airbag has the same strength as the airbag, the airbag is Although the deployment operation is normal, when an occupant collides with the instrument panel where the airbag device is installed in a minor collision in which the airbag does not deploy, the impact is generated between the airbag lid and the airbag device. This can be absorbed by the deformation of the bracket without ensuring a sufficient buffer space, thereby increasing the degree of freedom in designing the shape of the instrument panel and internal routing.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention and its operation.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram showing the device of the first embodiment and its operation.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view showing the device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 4 is an impact load characteristic diagram of the device of the first embodiment.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory diagram showing an airbag device according to a second embodiment of the present invention and its operation.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment device and its operation.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing a second embodiment device and its operation.

FIG. 8 is an exploded perspective view showing the device of the second embodiment.

FIG. 9 is an impact load characteristic diagram of the device according to the second embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 Airbag lid (instrument panel) 3
Steering member (vehicle body) 4 Mounting bracket 6 Mounting bracket 11 Airbag case

Claims (1)

[Claims] Claim 1. An airbag device in which an airbag housed in an airbag case provided in an instrument panel is deployed using high-pressure gas in the event of a vehicle collision, wherein the airbag case is inserted through a bracket. The bracket is supported by the vehicle body and has a strength that does not deform due to deployment reaction force when the airbag is deployed, but has a strength that deforms in response to an input from the airbag case toward the front of the vehicle that is greater than the deployment reaction force. An airbag device characterized in that it is formed in a support structure having: