WO2013119048A1

WO2013119048A1 - Side airbag module for vehicle

Info

Publication number: WO2013119048A1
Application number: PCT/KR2013/000981
Authority: WO
Inventors: Do Hun Kim; Tohru Ujiie; Louis A. Mueller
Original assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Current assignee: Autoliv Development AB
Priority date: 2012-02-10
Filing date: 2013-02-07
Publication date: 2013-08-15
Anticipated expiration: 2014-08-10
Also published as: KR101560539B1; KR20130092114A

Description

SIDE AIRBAG MODULE FOR VEHICLE

The present invention relates to a side airbag module for a vehicle. In more particular, the present invention relates to a side airbag module for a vehicle, which includes an upper chamber to protect the chest of the occupant and a lower chamber to protect the hip of the occupant and induces the rapid inflation of the lower chamber while maintaining the inflation state of the lower chamber, thereby safely protecting occupants.

In general, an airbag system protects occupants in a vehicle by absorbing physical impact generated upon vehicle collision using the elasticity of an airbag cushion. The airbag system may be classified into a driver seat airbag system, a passenger seat airbag system, and a side airbag system.

In general, the side airbag system is installed at a seat or a pillar of a vehicle body to protect the head and the shoulder of an occupant from colliding with a door, to protect the occupant from being injured by the fragments of a broken window door, and to prevent the occupant from being sprung out of a vehicle body when the occupant is inclined to the door or the door is dent inwardly upon side collision.

Hereinafter, an airbag cushion according to the related art will be described with reference to FIG. 1.

An airbag cushion 10 used in a side airbag system according to the related art includes a lower chamber 40 to protect the hip of an occupant and an upper chamber 50 to protect the chest of the occupant. The lower and

upper chambers

40 and 50 are partitioned by an internal baffle 30, and the baffle 30 is formed therein with through holes (marked in a semicircular shape in FIG. 1) so that gas can be supplied from the lower chamber 40 to the upper chamber 50. In addition, the upper chamber 50 is formed therein with vent holes 20 so that gas is discharged to the outside after a predetermined gas pressure has been formed in the upper and

lower chambers

50 and 40.

According to the above structure, gas is primarily introduced into the lower chamber 40 due to the explosion of an inflator (not shown) to inflate the lower chamber 40, and the gas is introduced into the upper chamber 50 via the through holes to inflate the upper chamber 50.

However, according to the related art, in the state that the internal space of the upper chamber 50 communicates with the internal space of the lower chamber 40 via the through hole of the baffle 30, if the upper and

lower chambers

50 and 40 are inflated beyond a predetermined extent, the gas is discharged to the outside through the vent hole 20, so that the volumes of the upper and

lower chambers

50 and 40 that have been deployed may be gradually reduced.

Meanwhile, if the hip of the occupant is shaken upon vehicle collision, the shoulder, the chest, and the head of the occupant are more increasingly shaken in proportion to the extent of the shake of the hip of the occupant. In other words, the extent of the shake in the chest and the shoulder of the occupant may be more increased in proportion to the extent of the shake in the hip of the occupant serving as a reference region making contact with a vehicle seat. However, according to the related art, since the deployment volume of the upper and

lower chambers

50 and 40 is reduced after the upper and

lower chambers

50 and 40 have been inflated beyond the preset extent, the hip of the occupant may not be protected continuously.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag module for a vehicle, capable of continuously protecting the hip of an occupant by maintaining a lower chamber of protecting the hip of the occupant in a full deployment state after the lower chamber has been fully deployed upon vehicle collision.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a side airbag module for a vehicle, capable of minimizing a safety accident caused by the sudden inclination toward a vehicle door of the occupant upon vehicle collision by rapidly inflating a lower chamber.

Objects of the present invention may not be limited to the above, and other objects of the present invention will be apparently comprehended by those skilled in the art when making reference to embodiments in the following description.

In order to accomplish the objects, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a side airbag module for a vehicle including an airbag cushion, an inflator supplying gas to the airbag cushion to deploy the airbag cushion, and a baffle sewn in the airbag cushion to partition an internal space of the airbag cushion into upper and lower chambers. The side airbag module includes a first diffuser tube provided in the upper and lower chambers to form a fluid passage to supply the gas into the upper and lower chambers, and a second diffuser tube having one end portion connected to the first diffuser tube to introduce the gas into the lower chamber. The second diffuser tube includes a material more easily melted than a material constituting the first diffuser tube by high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded, and a portion of an open opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube is melted and closed by the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded in a state that the gas is filled in the lower chamber, so that the gas filled in the lower chamber is restricted from flowing back into the upper chamber.

In this case, a lower chamber gas inlet port may be incised at the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube so that the lower chamber gas inlet port is inclined in a length direction of the second diffuser tube to discharge the gas toward an inner central portion of the lower chamber.

The side airbag module further includes a heat shield to block high-temperature heat generated when the inflator is exploded from being transferred to a surrounding region, wherein, in a state that the lower chamber is inflated beyond a preset extent, gas received in the second diffuser tube flows back to the first diffuser tube, and the gas pressurizes an end region of the heat shield to push the heat shield inwardly, so that the end region of the heat shield is closed.

A lower chamber gas inlet port may be formed at the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube to discharge the gas toward an inner central portion of the lower chamber, and an opposite end region of the second diffuser tube may be rounded so that the opposite end region of the second diffuser tube is directed toward the inner central portion of the lower chamber.

A heat shield to block high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded from being transferred to a surrounding region is further provided. In a state that the lower chamber is inflated beyond a preset extent, gas received in the second diffuser tube flows back to the first diffuser tube, and the gas pressurizes an end region of the heat shield to push the heat shield inwardly, so that the end region of the heat shield is closed.

A block panel is connected to the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube along a circumferential direction of the lower chamber gas inlet port. The block panel has cutting lines radially formed at the block panel along the circumferential direction of the block panel while being spaced apart from each other, and the block panel is melted due to the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded.

The block panel may have a circular ring shape or a polygonal ring shape.

The side airbag module for the vehicle according to embodiments of the present invention has following effects.

After the lower chamber has been fully deployed, the gas in the lower chamber can be prevented from being discharged to the outside or from flowing back to the upper chamber, so that the hip of an occupant can be continuously protected.

The lower chamber can be rapidly deployed to quickly support the hip of the occupant upon vehicle collision, thereby preventing the occupant from being suddenly inclined toward a door as much as possible.

Effects of the present invention may not be limited to the above, and other objects of the present invention will be apparently comprehended by those skilled in the art when making reference to embodiments in the following description.

FIG. 1 is a view showing an airbag cushion of a side airbag module according to the related art;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the deployment of a side airbag module according to embodiments of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a view showing the state of the airbag cushion before an airbag cushion of a side airbag module for a vehicle is deployed according to a first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4 is a view showing the closed state of the opening of a second diffuser tube through the deployment of the airbag cushion of the side airbag module for the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 5 is a view showing the state of an airbag cushion before the airbag cushion of a side airbag cushion for a vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention is deployed;

FIG. 6 is a view showing the deployment states of the first and second diffuser tubes of FIG. 5;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 5; and

FIG. 8 is a view showing the closed state of the opening of the second diffuser tube through the deployment of the airbag cushion of the side airbag module for the vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to accompanying drawings. However, the present invention is not limited to the following embodiments, but various modifications may be realized. The present embodiments are provided to make the disclosure of the present invention perfect and to make those skilled in the art perfectly comprehend the scope of the present invention. The same reference numerals will be used to refer to the same elements.

A side airbag module (hereinafter, airbag module) for a vehicle according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention not only can rapidly support the hip of an occupant, but can continuously support the hip of the occupant by maintaining the airbag module in an inflation state after the airbag module has been inflated by employing an NGC (NO GAS COMMUNICATION) structure.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the deployment of a side airbag module according to embodiments of the present invention, FIG. 3 is a view showing the state of the airbag cushion before an airbag cushion of a side airbag module for a vehicle is deployed according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 4 is a view showing the closed state of the opening of a second diffuser tube through the deployment of the airbag cushion of the side airbag module for the vehicle according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the airbag module according to the first embodiment of the present invention includes an airbag cushion 100, an inflator 140 to supply gas into the airbag cushion 100 to deploy the airbag cushion 100, and a baffle 104 sewn to the airbag cushion 100 to partition the internal space of the airbag cushion 100 into upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103. The deployment state of the airbag cushion 100 due to the explosion of the inflator 140 is shown in FIG. 2. Since the deployment procedure of the airbag cushion 100 is generally known to those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains, the details thereof will be omitted.

According to the present embodiment, the airbag cushion 100 is completely partitioned into the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103 by the baffle 104. When the airbag cushion 100 is inflated, the upper chamber 101 protects the chest of the occupant, and the lower chamber 103 is provided at one side of the chamber 101 to protect the hip of the occupant. In this case, communication holes (i.e., gas moving holes) allowing the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103 to communicate with each other are not additionally formed in the baffle 104.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the airbag module includes a first diffuser tube 110, which forms a fluid passage to supply gas, which is generated when the inflator 140 is exploded, into the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103, and a second diffuser tube 120, which has one end portion connected to an open end portion of the first diffuser tube 110 provided in the lower chamber 103 and forms a fluid passage so that the gas passing through the first diffuser tube 110 can be introduced into the lower chamber 103, provided in the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103, respectively.

In this case, the first diffuser tube 110 is sewn to a pair of

external panels

105 and 106 constituting the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103, respectively, and provided therein with a fluid passage to supply gas into the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103. In addition, the most part of the first diffuser tube 110 is provided inside the upper chamber 101, and a part of the first diffuser tube 110 having a smaller area is provided inside the lower chamber 103. In detail, a part of the first diffuser tube 110 passes through the baffle 104 and is provided in the lower chamber 103, and a connection part between the baffle 104 and the first diffuser tube 110 may be formed through a sewing scheme or by using an adhesive.

One end portion of the second diffuser tube 120 is connected to an open end portion of the first diffuser tube 110 positioned in the lower chamber 103 through a sewing scheme or an adhesion scheme using an adhesive, and provided therein with a gas passage. Therefore, gas generated when the inflator 140 is exploded is supplied to the upper chamber 101 through the first diffuser tube 110 to inflate the upper chamber 101, and then supplied to the lower chamber 103 to inflate the lower chamber 103 after passing through the second diffuser tube 120 connected to the first diffuser tube 110.

Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a heat shield 107 is further provided and includes a fabric material to minimize (block) high-temperature heat generated when the inflator 140 is exploded from directly being delivered to surrounding regions, that is, parts of the first and

second diffuser tubes

110 and 120 provided closely to a gas exhaust port of the inflator 140.

As shown in FIG. 3, a lower chamber gas inlet port 121 is obliquely incised at an opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube 120 so that gas can be discharged while being inclined at a predetermined angle in the length direction of the second diffuser tube 120. In detail, the lower chamber gas inlet port 121 is incised in the inclined direction as described above so that the gas supplied into the second diffuser tube 120 is discharged toward the inner central portion of the lower chamber 103. Therefore, the gas, which has passed through the lower chamber gas inlet port 121, is more quickly supplied toward the central region of the lower chamber 103, so that the rapid inflation and deployment of the lower chamber 103 can be induced. In other words, according to the present embodiment, upon vehicle collision, the lower chamber 103 is rapidly inflated to rapidly support the hip of the occupant, thereby preventing the occupant from being suddenly inclined toward the door as much as possible, so that the safety of the occupant can be more protected.

Meanwhile, according to the present embodiment, preferably, if gas has been completely supplied to the upper and

lower chambers

101 and 103 due to the explosion of the inflator 140, the upper chamber 101 is gradually reduced in the deployment volume after the upper chamber 101 is maintained in a full deployment state during a preset time, and the lower chamber 103 is maintained in the full deployment state. To this end, the upper chamber 101 is formed therein with a vent hole 102 to discharge gas out thereof, and the lower chamber 103 has no vent hole.

In this case, under the assumption that the gas supply passage of the second diffuser tube 120 is not closed although a vent hole is not formed in the lower chamber 103, the gas supplied to the lower chamber 103 may flow back into the inflator (not shown) and the upper chamber 101 due to the external pressure applied to the inflated lower chamber 103 (the surface of the lower chamber 103 is pressurized due to the contact with the occupant) while inversely passing through the second diffuser tube 120 and the first diffuser tube 110. In this case, the full deployment state of the lower chamber 103 cannot be continuously maintained.

In order to solve the above problem, as shown in FIG. 4, preferably, the open opposite end of the second diffuser tube 120 must be closed due to the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator 140 is inflated. In detail, the second diffuser tube 120 may include a material that can be more easily melted than that of the first diffuser tube 110 due to the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator 140 is exploded. For example, the first diffuser tube 110 includes a nylon-based material coated with silicon (Si) to represent predetermined heat resistance, and the second diffuser tube 120 may include an uncoated nylon-based material. Alternately, both the first and

second diffuser tubes

110 and 120 may include coated materials, and the second diffuser tube 120 may be more easily melted than the first diffuser tube 120 due to the high-temperature gas heat.

In detail, if gas is supplied into the lower chamber 103 beyond a preset extent, the second diffuser tube 120 is melted beyond a preset extent due to the high-temperature heat of the gas passing through the second diffuser tube 120, so that the lower chamber gas inlet port 121 may be closed (in detail, the second diffuser tube 120 is melted while being rolled inwardly to close the fluid passage). Therefore, according to the present embodiment, if gas is completely filled in the lower chamber 103, the gas is restricted from flowing back into the upper chamber 101 and the inflator 140, so that the full deployment of the lower chamber 103 can be continuously maintained. Meanwhile, reference number 130 refers to a ribbon additionally interposed between a pair of

external panels

105 and 106 through a sewing scheme so that the full deployment state of the lower chamber 103 can be more stably maintained.

In addition, as described above, in the state that the end portion of the second diffuser tube 120 is closed (the lower chamber 103 is inflated beyond a preset extent), the gas received inside the second diffuser tube 120 instantaneously flows back into the first diffuser tube 110 in the initial stage. The gas pressurizes the end portion of the heat shield 107 so that the heat shield 107 is pushed inwardly, so that the end portion of the heat shield 197 may be closed. Accordingly, thereafter, the gas does not flow back any more, so that an anti-gas back flow structure can be more securely realized.

In summary, according to the present embodiment, the lower chamber gas inlet port 121 of the second diffuser tube 120 is incised in an inclined direction, the gas, which has passed through the lower chamber gas inlet port 121 of the second diffuser tube 120, is supplied toward the inner central portion of the lower chamber 103, and the fluid passage of the second diffuser tube 120 is closed due to the high-temperature gas heat, thereby preventing the gas from flowing back while closing the end portion of the heat shield 107. Accordingly, upon vehicle collision, the hip of the occupant can be supported rapidly, continuously, and stably as much as possible, thereby preventing the occupant from being inclined toward the door. Meanwhile, the inflated upper chamber 101 protects the chest, the waist, and the shoulder of the occupant.

Hereinafter, an airbag module according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described.

FIG. 5 is a view showing the state of an airbag cushion before the airbag cushion of a side airbag cushion for a vehicle according to a second embodiment of the present invention is deployed, FIG. 6 is a view showing the deployment states of the first and second diffuser tubes of FIG. 5, and FIG. 7 is a sectional view taken along line I-I of FIG. 5. FIG. 8 is a view showing the closed state of the opening of the second diffuser tube through the deployment of the airbag cushion of the side airbag module for the vehicle according to the second embodiment of the present invention.

The airbag module according to the second embodiment of the present invention employs an NGC structure similarly to that of the first embodiment, and has the same technical features as those of the first embodiment in that the lower chamber is rapidly deployed and the full deployment state of the lower chamber is maintained beyond a preset extent. Hereinafter, the second embodiment of the present invention will be described while focusing on the difference from the first embodiment of the present invention, and the structures and components the same as those of the first embodiment of the present invention will not be further described. In addition, reference numbers denoted with 200s will be assigned to the components the same as those of the first embodiment.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, similarly to the first embodiment, a lower chamber gas inlet port 221 serving as a gas exhaust port is formed at an opposite end portion of a second diffuse tube 220, and an opposite end region of the second diffuse tube 220 is rounded toward the inner central region of a lower chamber 203. As described above, the end region of the second diffuser tube 220 is rounded, and the lower chamber gas inlet port 221 is positioned toward the inner central region of the lower chamber 203, so that the gas generated when the inflator 240 is exploded passes through the second diffuser tube 220 and then more rapidly introduced into the lower chamber 203 through the lower chamber gas inlet port 221.

Therefore, similarly to the first embodiment, the second embodiment of the present invention induces the rapid inflation of the lower chamber 203 to rapidly support the hip of an occupant, thereby preventing the occupant from being suddenly inclined toward the door.

Similarly to the first embodiment, according to the present embodiment, in order to maintain the full deployment state of the lower chamber 203 beyond to the preset extent by restricting the gas from flowing back, the open opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube 220 is closed due to the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator 240 is exploded.

Meanwhile, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, a block panel 222 is attached to the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube 220 along the circumferential direction of the lower chamber gas inlet port 221. The block panel 222 has a substantially ring shape. As shown in FIG. 7, the central portion of the block panel 222 is attached to the second diffuser tube 220 in the vicinity of the lower chamber gas inlet port 221, and the peripheral portion of the block panel 222 is not attached to the second diffuser tube 220. In other words, the block panel 222 can be freely bent about one side thereof sewn to the second diffuser tube 220. According to the present embodiment, the block panel 222 can be attached to the lower chamber gas inlet port 221 along the circumferential direction of the lower chamber gas inlet port 221 through a sewing scheme or by using an adhesive agent.

As shown in FIG. 6, although the block panel 222 has a circular ring shape, the present invention is not limited thereto. In other words, the block panel 222 may have various shapes such as a triangular shape, a rectangular shape, a pentagonal shape, and a polygonal shape. Hereinafter, the shape of the block panel 222 will be described on the basis of the spread state of the block panel 222 as shown in FIG. 6.

The block panel 222 is additionally provided to more easily close the lower chamber gas inlet port 221 after the high-temperature gas has been supplied into the lower chamber 203 beyond to the extent through the lower chamber gas inlet port 221. As shown in FIG. 6, preferably, cutting lines 224 are radially formed at the block panel 222 along the circumferential direction of the block panel 222 while being spaced apart from each other. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 8, a plurality of unit flap members 226 melt-adhere to each other by the high-temperature heat of the gas, so that the lower chamber gas inlet port 221 can be easily closed. The block panel 222 preferably includes a material the same as that of the second diffuser tube 220, so that the block panel 222 can be melted by heat having a predetermined high temperature or more.

Meanwhile, the closing procedure of the heat shield 207 according to the second embodiment of the present invention is identical to the closing procedure of the heat shield 207 according to the first embodiment of the present invention.

Although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described, it is understood that the present invention should not be limited to these exemplary embodiments but various changes and modifications can be made by one ordinary skilled in the art within the spirit and scope of the present invention as hereinafter claimed.

Claims

A side airbag module for a vehicle including an airbag cushion, an inflator supplying gas to the airbag cushion to deploy the airbag cushion, and a baffle sewn in the airbag cushion to partition an internal space of the airbag cushion into upper and lower chambers, characterized in that the side airbag module comprises:

a first diffuser tube provided in the upper and lower chambers to form a fluid passage to supply the gas into the upper and lower chambers; and

a second diffuser tube having one end portion connected to the first diffuser tube to introduce the gas into the lower chamber,

wherein the second diffuser tube includes a material more easily melted than a material constituting the first diffuser tube by high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded, and

a portion of an open opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube is melted and closed by the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded in a state that the gas is filled in the lower chamber, so that the gas filled in the lower chamber is restricted from flowing back into the upper chamber.
The side airbag module of claim 1, further comprising a lower chamber gas inlet port incised at the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube so that the lower chamber gas inlet port is inclined in a length direction of the second diffuser tube to discharge the gas toward an inner central portion of the lower chamber.
The side airbag module of claim 2, further comprising a heat shield to block high-temperature heat generated when the inflator is exploded from being transferred to a surrounding region, wherein, in a state that the lower chamber is inflated beyond a preset extent, gas received in the second diffuser tube flows back to the first diffuser tube, and the gas pressurizes an end region of the heat shield to push the heat shield inwardly, so that the end region of the heat shield is closed.
The side airbag module of claim 1, further comprising a lower chamber gas inlet port formed at the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube to discharge the gas toward an inner central portion of the lower chamber, wherein an opposite end region of the second diffuser tube is rounded so that the opposite end region of the second diffuser tube is directed toward the inner central portion of the lower chamber.
The side airbag module of claim 4, further comprising a heat shield to block high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded from being transferred to a surrounding region, wherein, in a state that the lower chamber is inflated beyond a preset extent, gas received in the second diffuser tube flows back to the first diffuser tube, and the gas pressurizes an end region of the heat shield to push the heat shield inwardly, so that the end region of the heat shield is closed.
The side airbag module of claim 4, further comprising a block panel connected to the opposite end portion of the second diffuser tube along a circumferential direction of the lower chamber gas inlet port,

wherein the block panel has cutting lines radially formed at the block panel along the circumferential direction of the block panel while being spaced apart from each other, and

the block panel is melted due to the high-temperature gas heat generated when the inflator is exploded.
The side airbag module of claim 6, wherein the block panel has a circular ring shape or a polygonal ring shape.