JPH08301060A - Inflator installing structure - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To reduce cost, simplify installing work, and enhance the assembling work efficiency by reliable fastening by fixedly holding an inflator, an air bag main body or the like on the baseplate side by the minimum number of constitutive part items using no fastening tool such as a bolt and a nut. CONSTITUTION: An inflator 1 and a retainer 2 are screw-fitted to each other, and are fixed to a baseplate 9, and an air bag main body 3 and installing surfaces 6 and 7 around a gas injection port 5 of a cover member 4 to cover this are sandwiched between the inflator 1 and the retainer 2, and these are fixed to the baseplate 9.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mounting structure for an inflator which is a gas generating portion of an air bag device provided to protect an occupant in the event of a collision of a vehicle or the like. The airbag body that swells to
The present invention relates to a cover member that covers this, and an inflator mounting structure that is inserted into these gas injection ports and is fixedly held by a base plate on the fixed side via a retainer.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, a vehicle or the like is provided with an air bag device for protecting an occupant in the event of a collision. This airbag apparatus includes an airbag body, a cover member that covers the airbag body, an inflator that is a gas generating portion, a retainer for firmly holding the inflator, the airbag body, and the like on the base plate side. There are various types of air bag devices as such, and various improvements have been made in the attachment structure of the constituent elements of the air bag device, which have been disclosed as a number of known techniques. 7 and 8 show a part thereof.

As shown in FIG. 7, the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 covering the airbag body 3 form mounting surfaces 6 and 7 which are bent inward toward the gas inlet 5. The inflator 1 which is a gas generating portion is mounted by inserting the flange portion 8 into contact with the lower surface of the base plate 9 and inserting the gas generating side into the gas inlet 5. On the other hand, the retainer 2 is arranged in the airbag body 3 and forms a flat flange portion 10. As shown, the inflator 1, the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 are attached to the base plate 9 with bolts 11 and nuts 12.

That is, the air bag body 3 and the cover member 4 are mounted on the upper surface of the base plate 9 with their mounting surfaces 6, 7 in contact with each other, and the retainer 2 is mounted with the flange portion 10 in contact therewith. On the other hand, the inflator 1 contacts the lower surface of the base plate 9 with the flange portion 8 and is inserted into the airbag body 3 from the gas inlet 5. By inserting the bolt 11 between the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 and tightening the nut 12, the attachment surfaces 6 and 7 of the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 are clamped by the flange portions 8 and 10, and the whole is attached to the base plate 9. Fixed.

In the structure shown in FIG. 8, the threaded portion of the inflator 1 is screwed onto the threaded portion of the tubular portion 13 of the base plate 9 having the tubular portion 13 projectingly formed at the center thereof, so that the inflator 1 is firmly fixed to the base plate 9. It is a thing. In this case, as shown in the drawing, the mounting surfaces 6 and 7 of the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 on the gas injection port 5 side are attached to the base plate 9 by the bolts 1.
1, fixed by nuts 12.

[0006]

In the case of the mounting structure of the inflator 1 shown in FIG. 7, the inflator 1, the retainer 2, the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 are the bolts 1.
Since it is fixed to the base plate 9 via 1 and the nut 12, it is necessary to provide a bolt insertion hole in each of them, and an assembling work in which a bolt is passed through these insertion holes and tightened with the nut 12. This work is quite troublesome and takes time.

In addition to the bolts 11 and the nuts 12, washers (not shown) and the like are required, which causes a problem that the number of parts is increased. On the other hand, in the one shown in FIG. 8, the inflator 1 itself is screwed to the base plate 9 so that there is no problem in mounting, but the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 still have the bolts 11, the nuts 12, washers (not shown) and the like. It is fixed to the base plate 9 via. Therefore, there are problems similar to the above.

An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems and to fix the inflator, the airbag body, the cover member, etc. to the base plate side without using bolts, nuts, etc., to reduce the number of parts, respectively. It is intended to provide an inflator mounting structure capable of facilitating assembly work and improving assembly work efficiency.

[0009]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and an inflator mounting structure according to claim 1 of the present invention is a gas injection method for an airbag body and a cover member covering the airbag body. A mounting structure for an inflator which is inserted into a mouth and is fixed to a fixed side base plate via a retainer, wherein the retainer and the inflator have a mounting surface around a gas injection port of the airbag body and a cover member which is the base plate. A flange portion for sandwiching the flange portion is formed, and the retainer and the inflator are screwed together so as to separate the flange portion from each other.

Further, in the inflator mounting structure according to a second aspect of the present invention, the retainer and the inflator are screwed with each other by a male and female screw portion of a multi-thread screw, and the female and male screw portion has the multi-thread screw of the screw type. It is characterized in that it is formed from concave and convex piece portions cut at appropriate intervals along the developing direction.

Further, in the inflator mounting structure according to claim 3 of the present invention, a locating pin is fixed to the retainer,
A locate hole into which the locate pin is fitted is formed in the airbag body, the cover member and the base plate at a position corresponding to the locate pin.

[0012]

According to the inflator mounting structure of the first aspect of the present invention, the inflator and the retainer are screwed in the direction in which the respective flange portions are brought close to or away from each other, and the gas injection of the airbag main body and the cover member covering the same is performed. Since the mounting surface around the inlet is clamped by the flange portion by screwing the inflator and the retainer, it is fixed to the base plate without requiring any fasteners such as bolts and nuts unlike the prior art. That is, each component can be attached to the base plate by a simple operation of screwing the inflator and the retainer together. Therefore, the assembling work is extremely simple and quick, the assembling work efficiency can be improved, and the number of parts can be reduced.

According to the inflator mounting structure of the second aspect of the present invention, the inflator and the retainer are screwed together by the concavo-convex piece portion in which the male and female screw portions of the multiple screws are cut at appropriate intervals along the developing direction of the screw thread. Since the structure is formed, the inflator and the retainer can be screwed together very easily and in a short time. Further, the attaching and detaching work before and after the screwing for engaging the both is easily performed. Further, since the multi-threaded screw has a large screw fastening force, each component is firmly fixed to the base plate.

According to the inflator mounting structure of the third aspect of the present invention, since the locate pin is fixed to the retainer and the locate holes to be fitted therein are formed in the airbag body, the cover member and the base plate respectively, the inflator and Prior to the screwing, the retainer, the airbag body, and the cover member are firmly fixed to the base plate side. For this reason, the retainer and the inflator are screwed together very easily, and the assembling work is facilitated.

[0015]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An inflator mounting structure according to the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIGS. 1 and 2 show an embodiment of the present invention by a normal screwing method, and FIGS. 3 to 7 show other embodiments of the present invention using a part of the multiple thread. However, the present invention is not limited to the above, and other known screwing methods can naturally be applied. Further, the present invention is not only applied to an airbag device for a vehicle.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the airbag apparatus includes an inflator 1, a retainer 2, an airbag body 3 and a cover member 4 for covering the same, and a fixed side base plate 9 for holding them. Etc.

The inflator 1 is a gas generator, and its internal structure is known. A flange portion 8 for fixing the inflator 1 to the base plate 9 side is provided on the outer surface side thereof.
And the screw portion 14 is formed on the outer surface of the portion of the airbag body 3 or the like to be inserted into the gas inlet 5.

As shown in FIG. 1, the retainer 2 is a ring-shaped member housed in the airbag body 3. The bulging portion 1 has a bulging portion 15 at the center and a collar portion 16 formed on the outer edge.
5 and the flange portion 16 are connected by a flat flange portion 10 to form an integral structure. The threaded portion 1 is provided in the inner hole of the bulging portion 15.
7 is threaded.

The screw portion 17 is screwed into the screw portion 14 of the inflator 1. As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, a locating pin 18 is provided on the flange portion 10 of the retainer 2.
Two are provided. The locate pin 18 is arranged so as to project from the lower surface of the flange portion 10 along the axial direction, and the base end portion is fixed to the flange portion 10. In addition, locate pin 18
The number is not limited to two, but it is necessary to provide at least two to achieve the lock function.

The airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 are formed of a bag having a gas inlet 5, and flat mounting surfaces 6 and 7 are formed around the gas inlet 5. In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, locate holes 19 and 20 that fit with the locate pin 18 are bored in both.

The base plate 9 is installed on the fixed side, and has a flat surface 2 for holding at least the inflator 1 and the like.
1 is a plate-shaped member. Further, the flat surface 21 is provided with a locate hole 22 into which the locate pin 18 is fitted.

Next, a method of mounting the inflator 1 and the like of this embodiment will be described. First, the retainer 2 is put into the airbag body 3, the lower surface of the flange portion 10 is arranged at a position facing the mounting surface 6 of the airbag body 3, and the locate pin 18 is located in the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4. Insert into holes 19 and 20.

The mounting surface 7 of the cover member 4 is brought into contact with the base plate 9 and the locate pin 18 is fitted into the locate hole 22 of the base plate 9. As described above, the retainer 2, the airbag body 3, and the cover member 4 are positioned and held at the predetermined positions on the base plate 9.

Next, the inflator 1 is inserted from below the base plate 9, the threaded portion 17 of the retainer 2 and the threaded portion 14 of the inflator 1 are screwed together, and the inflator 1 is rotated in the tightening direction so that the flange portion 8 is formed. Base plate 9
Screw in until it comes into pressure contact with the bottom surface of.

In this case, since the retainer 2 and the like are held on the base plate 9 side through the locate pin 18 as described above, the retainer 2 side does not swing around as the inflator 1 is screwed. Therefore, the inflator 1 can be screwed in easily and reliably. From the above,
The inflator 1, the airbag body 3, the cover member 4, and the like can be firmly fixed to the base plate 9 without using the bolts 11, the nuts 12, and the like as in the conventional technique.

FIG. 3 shows another embodiment of the present invention in which a part of the multiple thread is used for screwing the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 together. Although general male and female screws are used for the screw portions 14 and 17 of the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 of the above-described embodiment, this embodiment employs a multi-start screw having a lead. In the case of a general male / female screw, it is necessary to turn the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 at least several times until the fastening between the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 is completed, which requires a long time for the mounting work. This embodiment solves that problem.

First, the general structure of each constituent element of the airbag apparatus in this embodiment will be briefly described. The inflator 1 has a protruding piece 2 which is a part of a multi-thread screw on the outer circumference of the insertion side.
3 is the same as that of the above-mentioned embodiment except that 3 is formed. The base plate 9 is a plate member that projects downward and forms a flat portion 24 at the lowermost end.

On the other hand, the retainer 2 has a boss portion 25 projecting downward in the center thereof and integrally formed with the flange portion 10 and the flange portion 16 similar to those in the above-described embodiment. A concave piece portion 26 that is screwed into the convex piece portion 23 is formed on the inner surface side. The mounting surfaces 6 and 7 of the airbag body 3 and the cover member 4 around the gas inlet 5 are sandwiched between the base plate 9 and the flange portion 10 of the retainer 2, and are sandwiched between the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 by screwing. .

Next, the structures of the convex piece portion 23 and the concave piece portion 26 will be described. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6, the inflator 1
One of the threads of the multi-thread screw is formed to project on the outer circumference of the thread, and the thread is appropriately spaced along the direction of development of the screw as shown in the drawing.
Shred with. As a result, a plurality of protruding piece portions 23 having a length a are formed along the unfolding direction of the screw. The length a is at least shorter than the distance b. In addition, in FIG. 3, FIG. 4 and FIG. 6, the lower surface forms a threaded surface 27.

On the other hand, the concave piece portion 26 is to be screwed with the thread of the multi-thread screw formed on the inflator 1 side, and one of the thread threads of the multi-thread screw may be similarly cut off. In the embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the retainer 2 is formed by cutting and raising a part of the boss portion 25. That is,
As shown in FIG. 5, the boss portion 25 is notched while leaving the base end side, and the notched portion is bent outward based on the base end portion.

In this case, the upper surface of the concave piece portion 26 forms the screw surface 28, and the screw surface 2 of the convex piece portion 23 of the inflator 1 is formed.
Screw with 7. Further, the concave piece portion 26 corresponds to the convex piece portion 23 and is formed at a plurality of positions along the screw developing direction, and the length d along the screw developing direction is the same as the length a of the convex piece portion 23. It is formed of the same size.

With the structure described above, the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 are screwed to each other by bringing the threaded surface 27 of the lower surface of the convex piece 23 and the threaded surface 28 of the upper surface of the concave piece 26 into contact with each other.

Further, the screw surface 27 and the screw surface 28 are released from contact with each other by rotating in a slightly opposite direction from the screwed position, and the inflator 1 can be moved in the axial direction and removed from the retainer 2. On the contrary, by inserting the inflator 1 into the retainer 2 and rotating it in the forward direction a little, the convex piece 23 and the concave piece 26 are screwed together, and the both are fastened. As described above, the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 are screwed or released very quickly.

In the above description, the convex piece 23 of the inflator 1 and the concave piece of the retainer 2 are respectively referred to as the inflator 1.
Although the structure is integral with the retainer 2, the separate component may be fixed. The screwing structure of the inflator 1 and the retainer 2 is not limited to the screw structure described above, and a known screw coupling mechanism is applied.

Further, in the above description, the single inflator 1 is used, but it is also applicable to a plurality of inflators 1 arranged on the base plate 9 side. Also,
The inflator 1, the retainer 2 and the screwing surface may be subjected to a known wear-resistant treatment to improve durability, or a separate wear-resistant material may be fixed.

[0036]

The above is the configuration of the embodiment of the inflator mounting structure according to the present invention. According to the inflator mounting structure of claim 1 of the present invention, the inflator and the retainer are screwed together, and the flanges of these are attached. Since the air bag body and the mounting surface around the gas injection port of the cover member that covers the air bag body are sandwiched between the parts and the base plate side and are fixed to the base plate side, bolts, nuts, etc., as in the prior art, are formed. The inflator or the like can be firmly attached to the base plate side without using any fastener. As a result, the number of parts can be reduced and the assembly work efficiency can be greatly improved.

Further, according to the inflator mounting structure of the second aspect of the present invention, a part of the multi-threaded screw is formed at the threaded portion of the inflator and the retainer, and these are attached and detached. Since it is formed so as to be freely screwed and fastened to each other, it is easier to screw the inflator and the retainer,
And it can be done quickly. As a result, the assembly work efficiency can be further improved.

Further, according to the inflator mounting structure of the third aspect of the present invention, the retainer, the airbag body and the cover member are formed so as to be held in advance on the base plate side through the locate pin and the locate hole.
Since the retainer side does not rotate when the inflator is screwed, the fastening work of the inflator can be performed more smoothly and reliably.

According to the present invention, the components can be easily and securely attached with the minimum number of parts without using fasteners such as bolts and nuts, and the efficiency of assembly work and the cost reduction can be achieved. An inflator mounting structure can be obtained.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an inflator mounting structure according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a divided perspective view showing a structure of the embodiment and components of an airbag device.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional view showing an inflator mounting structure according to another embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a detailed structure of a screwed portion in FIG.

5 is a partial perspective view showing the structure of a recessed piece of the retainer in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 6 is a partial perspective view showing the structure of a protruding piece portion of the inflator in the embodiment of FIG.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a conventional inflator mounting structure of an airbag device.

FIG. 8 is a partial axial cross-sectional view showing another conventional technique of the inflator mounting structure of the airbag device.

[Explanation of reference numerals] 1 inflator 2 retainer 3 airbag body 4 cover member 5 gas inlet 6 mounting surface 7 mounting surface 8 flange portion 9 base plate 10 flange portion 11 bolt 12 nut 13 tubular portion 14 screw portion 15 bulging portion 16 Collar part 17 Screw part 18 Locate pin 19 Locate hole 20 Locate hole 21 Flat surface 22 Locate hole 23 Convex piece part 24 Flat part 25 Boss part 26 Recessed piece part 27 Screw surface 28 Screw surface

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. An inflator mounting structure which is inserted into a gas inlet of an air bag body and a cover member covering the air bag body and is fixed to a fixed side base plate via a retainer, wherein the retainer and the inflator have the air Flange portions for sandwiching the mounting surfaces around the gas injection port of the back body and the cover member via the base plate are respectively formed, and the retainer and the inflator are screwed to each other so as to separate the flange portions from each other. Inflator mounting structure. 2. The retainer and the inflator are screwed together by female and male screw portions of a multi-thread screw, and the female and male screw portions have a concavo-convex portion obtained by cutting the multi-thread screw at appropriate intervals along a screw developing direction. The inflator mounting structure according to claim 1, wherein the inflator mounting structure is formed of one piece. 3. A locate pin is fixed to the retainer, and a locate hole into which the locate pin is fitted is formed in the airbag body, the cover member and the base plate at a position corresponding to the locate pin. Inflator mounting structure.