JP2001171464A - Head protective air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To restrain the expansion part internal pressure of an air bag expanded in curtain shape, from becoming too high or too low in a head protective air bag device. SOLUTION: This head protective air bag device 10 is provided with the air bag 11 stored in the folded state along a roof side rail part 21 of a vehicle, and an inflator 12 capable of supplying gas to expansion parts 11b, 11c of the air bag 11. Gas is supplied from the inflator 12 to the expansion parts 11b, 11c of the air bag 11 to expand the air bag 11 in curtain shape at the side part in a cabin to thereby receive occupants' heads Hf, Hr by the expansion parts 11b, 11c. In this constitution, the air bag 11 is provided with a pressure control mechanism (an auxiliary expansion part 11d and a seal part 11g) for regulating the maximum pressure of expansion part internal pressure to the set value in the expanded state of the air bag 11 to hold pressure.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a head protection airbag device mounted on a vehicle.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As one of head protection airbag devices,
An airbag housed in a folded state along a roof side rail portion of a vehicle, and an inflator capable of supplying gas to an inflating portion of the airbag, wherein gas is supplied from the inflator to an inflating portion of the airbag. Is supplied, the airbag is inflated and deployed in the shape of a curtain at a side portion in a vehicle cabin so that the inflatable portion can receive the head of an occupant.
No. 3 discloses this.

[0003]

In the head protection airbag device disclosed in the above-mentioned publication, a weakest portion having a strength lower than that of a general portion is provided at a predetermined portion of the airbag, and the airbag is inflated and deployed. When the internal pressure of the airbag rises abnormally, the weakest portion provided at a predetermined portion of the airbag is damaged, and gas leaks from inside the airbag to the outside. Therefore, although it is possible to prevent gas leakage from occurring in a part that cannot be specified due to an abnormal increase in the internal pressure of the inflated and deployed airbag, gas leakage at the weakest part of the airbag stops once it occurs. Therefore, the internal pressure of the airbag may be unnecessarily reduced.

[0004]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problem, and has an airbag housed in a state of being folded along a roof side rail portion of a vehicle, and an airbag of the airbag. An inflator capable of supplying gas to the inflating portion, wherein the gas is supplied from the inflator to the inflating portion of the airbag, whereby the airbag is inflated and deployed in a curtain shape at a side portion in the vehicle interior. In the head protection airbag device in which the occupant's head can be received by the inflating portion, the maximum pressure of the inflating portion internal pressure is set to the airbag or the inflator in the inflated and deployed state of the airbag. It is characterized in that a pressure control mechanism for regulating and maintaining the pressure is provided.

[0005]

In the head protection airbag device according to the present invention, when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the pressure in the inflated portion of the airbag is regulated to the maximum value by the pressure control mechanism. Pressure is maintained. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the pressure in the inflated portion from becoming too large or too small in the inflated and deployed airbag, so that the occupant's head can be accurately positioned by the inflated portion of the airbag maintained at an appropriate pressure. Can be accepted.

[0006]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. The head protection airbag device 10 according to the present invention shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 includes an airbag 1 extending in a front-rear direction along a roof side rail portion 21 of a vehicle.
1, an inflator 12 that is disposed on a quarter pillar portion 22 of the vehicle and supplies gas into the airbag 11 from the rear end of the airbag 11, a tension belt 13 that tensions the airbag 11, and the like.

The airbag 11 is a well-known airbag having a base cloth coated with an airtight coating. As shown in FIG. 1, an airbag 11 is provided with a front inflatable portion 11b and a rear seat inflatable portion 11b across a central non-inflatable portion 11a. An inflatable portion 11c is provided, an auxiliary inflatable portion 11d is provided in proximity to the front seat inflatable portion 11b, a gas passage portion 11e extending in the front-rear direction at an upper portion and opening at a rear end is provided, and a plurality of upper edge portions are provided. A mounting piece 11f is provided. This airbag 11
Is attached to the roof side rail portion 21 of the vehicle body using bolts and nuts (both not shown) at each of the mounting pieces 11f.

[0008] The airbag 11 has a central uninflated portion 1.
1a and the respective expanded portions 11b, 11c, 11d are folded in a bellows shape in the vertical direction (specifically, the inflator 12
2 is held along the roof side rail portion 21 as shown in FIG. 2 and the quarter pillar garnish is held in a state of being held by a tape which can be broken by the gas pressure supplied to the gas passage portion 11e. Except for the rear end portion which is covered by (not shown), it is covered by the peripheral portion of the roof head lining (not shown) which can be elastically deformed.

The front inflatable portion 11b of the airbag 11 protects the occupant head Hf of the front seat Sf from the side.
It is constituted by three expansion chambers R1, R2, R3 extending vertically and communicating at the upper end with the gas passage portion 11e. The rear inflating portion 11c of the airbag 11 protects the occupant's head Hr of the rear seat Sr from the side, and extends in the up-down direction and communicates at its upper end with the gas passage portion 11e. R5 and R6.

The auxiliary inflatable portion 11d of the airbag 11 is formed near the rear of the inflation chamber R3 in the front inflation portion 11b and can communicate with the inflation chamber R3 via a seal portion 11g. The seal portion 11g is formed by bonding a base fabric forming a communication path for communicating the expansion chamber R3 and the auxiliary expansion portion 11d with an adhesive, and the adhesive is not applied until the pressure in the expansion chamber R3 reaches a set value. It does not come off, and cuts off the communication between the expansion chamber R3 and the auxiliary expansion section 11d.
A pressure control mechanism is constituted by the auxiliary inflation portion 11d. The seal portion 11g is not deformed (extended) until the pressure in the expansion chamber R3 reaches a set value, and the auxiliary expansion portion 1 is not deformed.
The base cloth may be sewn with a suture that blocks the flow of gas into 1d.

The pressure control mechanism shuts off the gas flow from the expansion chamber R3 to the auxiliary expansion section 11d until the pressure in the expansion chamber R3 reaches a set value while the airbag 11 is inflated and deployed. When the pressure in the chamber R3 becomes equal to or higher than a set value, a predetermined amount of gas flows from the expansion chamber R3 to the auxiliary expansion section 11d to lower the pressure in the expansion chamber R3 by a predetermined amount. The maximum internal pressure is temporarily regulated to a set value to maintain the pressure. The reason why the pressure in the inflation chamber R3 is equal to or higher than the set value is caused by a manufacturing error of the airbag 11 and the inflator 12 (particularly,
(Variation in gas generation characteristics of the inflator 12) and a reduction in volume due to interference of the occupant heads Hf and Hr with the airbag 11.

The inflator 12 injects gas toward the gas passage 11e of the airbag 11 at the time of a side collision of the vehicle (detected by a sensor (not shown)) and the like, and along the quarter pillar 22. It is arranged in an inclined manner, and is attached to the quarter pillar portion 22 using a bolt (both not shown) by a bracket provided at the center, and its front end portion is a gas passage portion 11 e of the airbag 11.
It is fitted airtight inside. The inflator 12
Is covered with a quarter pillar garnish (not shown) together with the rear end of the airbag 11.

The tension belt 13 is made of a material that is easy to fold and is difficult to extend. One end 13a is fixed to the front end of the airbag 11 below the non-inflation portion (non-inflated portion), and the other end 13c is connected to the front pillar portion 23. It is fixed to the lower part using a fixing tool (not shown) such as a bolt. It should be noted that the tension belt 13 is moved in a state where the airbag 11 is folded and stored in the front pillar portion 23.
Along with the front pillar garnish (not shown).

In this embodiment constructed as described above, the airbag 11 is normally folded and stored as shown in FIG. Further, at the time of a side collision of the vehicle or the like, gas is ejected from the inflator 12, and this gas flows through the gas passage portion 11 e of the airbag 11 to each of the inflation chambers R 1.
R6, the airbag 11 pushes the peripheral edge of the roof head lining open toward the vehicle interior and expands downward, and inflates in a curtain shape at the side in the vehicle interior as shown in FIG. expand. At this time, in the airbag 11,
The gas supplied from the inflator 12 inflates the inflatable portions 11b and 11c, respectively, so that the occupant heads Hf and H
r is protected from the side.

In this embodiment, when the airbag 11 is inflated and deployed as shown in FIG.
The front and rear inflatable portions 11 of the airbag 11 are controlled by a pressure control mechanism including an auxiliary inflatable portion 11d and a seal portion 11g.
The pressures in b and 11c are maintained at the maximum pressure temporarily regulated to a set value. Therefore, in the inflated and deployed airbag 11, the pressure in the front and rear inflatable portions 11 b and 11 c can be prevented from becoming excessively large or small, and the front and rear of the airbag 11 maintained at an appropriate pressure can be suppressed. The occupant heads Hf, Hr can be accurately received by the two inflated portions 11b, 11c.

Particularly, in the present embodiment, since the auxiliary inflation chamber 11d and the seal portion 11g are provided corresponding to the front inflation portion 11b of the airbag 11, the airbag 11 is provided with the front inflation portion 11b.
When the front passenger's head Hf is received at b, the pressure control mechanism responds quickly to the pressure increase that occurs at that time. Therefore, the head Hf can be optimally received and protected by the front expanding portion 11b.

In the above embodiment, the airbag 11
Auxiliary inflatable portion 11d provided corresponding to front inflatable portion 11b
Although the pressure control mechanism is constituted by the seal portion 11g and the embodiment, the auxiliary inflatable portion and the seal portion may be further provided corresponding to the rear inflatable portion 11c of the airbag 11. Further, instead of the auxiliary inflation portion 11d and the seal portion 11g of the airbag 11, as in the embodiment shown in FIG. 3, a relief valve V provided at the upper part of the gas passage portion 11e between the inflation portions 11b and 11c. It is also possible to configure and implement a pressure control mechanism.

The relief valve V shown in FIG.
By letting excess gas escape upward from 1e,
The maximum pressure of the internal pressures of the two expansion portions 11b and 11c is regulated to a specified value to maintain the pressure. For this reason, surplus gas is not blown to the occupant, so that the occupant is not discomforted, and the internal pressure of both the inflated portions 11b, 11c can be controlled by one relief valve V. hand,
It can be implemented at low cost.

In each of the above embodiments, the front and rear inflatable portions 11b, 11b
Although the airbag 11 is provided with the pressure control mechanism for regulating the maximum pressure of the internal pressure to the set pressure and maintaining the pressure, the pressure control mechanism (for example, a relief valve) may be provided in the inflator 12 for implementation. It is. The pressure control mechanism is
When each occupant's head is received at each inflation portion of the airbag, it is desirable to maintain the pressure in each inflation portion at a set pressure, but it is necessary to maintain a necessary and sufficient pressure even if it is lower than the set pressure. It is sufficient if they are provided, and they can be implemented with appropriate changes.

In each of the above embodiments, the inflator 12 is disposed behind the airbag 11 and gas is supplied into the airbag 11 from behind the airbag 11. It is also possible to arrange and implement in such a manner as to be disposed in front of the bag 11 and supply gas into the airbag 11 from the front of the airbag 11. In this case, the inflator 12 can be provided along the front pillar portion 23.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view schematically showing an embodiment of a head protection airbag device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a state where the airbag shown in FIG. 1 is folded and stored.

FIG. 3 is a diagram corresponding to FIG. 2, showing another embodiment of the pressure control mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

10 ... Head protection airbag device, 11 ... Airbag, 1
1a: central non-inflatable portion, 11b: front inflatable portion, 11c: rear inflatable portion, 11d: auxiliary inflatable portion, 11e: gas passage portion,
11f: mounting piece, 11g: seal portion, 12: inflator, 13: tension belt, 21: roof side rail portion, 22: quarter pillar portion, 23: front pillar portion, Sf: front seat, Sr: rear seat, Hf, Hr: the occupant head.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An airbag which is stored in a state of being folded along a roof side rail portion of a vehicle, and an inflator capable of supplying gas to an inflating portion of the airbag, wherein the airbag is provided from the inflator. By supplying gas to the inflatable portion of the vehicle, the airbag is inflated and deployed in the shape of a curtain at a side portion in the vehicle interior, and the occupant's head can be received at the inflatable portion. Wherein the airbag or the inflator is provided with a pressure control mechanism for regulating the maximum pressure of the pressure in the inflation portion to a set value and keeping the pressure in a state where the airbag is inflated and deployed, wherein the head protection air is provided. Bag device.