JP2938835B2 - Energy absorption structure on the side of the vehicle - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a so-called side collision countermeasure for protecting an occupant in a vehicle cabin by absorbing the impact energy due to a relatively large impact applied to the side of the vehicle body from the outside. The present invention relates to an energy absorbing structure on the side of a vehicle body.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, a vehicle such as an automobile is provided with an airbag device having an inflator and an airbag, and when a relatively large impact force acts on the vehicle body during a collision or the like, the airbag is normally in a contracted state. It is known that the inflated airbag reduces the impact force acting on the occupant in the passenger compartment to protect the occupant.

In such a device, as a countermeasure for side collisions, for example, as described in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Publication No. 1-117957, an impact sensor which is turned on by an impact force inputted from the side is provided at the side of the vehicle body. There has been proposed an apparatus in which a folded airbag and a propulsion means for inflating the airbag in response to a signal from the sensor are provided in an armrest inside a vehicle body side portion.

[0004]

However, since such an airbag device is mounted on the armrest of the door, if the door enters the vehicle interior during a side collision,
As the relative speed between the airbag and the occupant increases, when the occupant slides the seat back and forth to adjust the position, the position of the occupant may deviate from the position regulated by the airbag device.

An object of the present invention is to provide an energy absorbing structure on the side of a vehicle body in which the airbag reliably protects an occupant when the airbag is inflated and deployed in a side collision.

[0006]

Means for Solving the Problems The invention of claim 1, slidable Sea in the longitudinal direction side impact air bag device to deploy between the vehicle body side wall and the occupant which constitutes the vehicle body side
In the energy absorption structure on the side of the vehicle body,
An impact detector for detecting an impact force input to the vehicle body, in which is operated on the basis of the signal from the shock detection means
An inflator fixed to the inflator;
Airbag that has an airbag
Unit. The airbag unit is
Integrally ride on both sides of the backrest at the center of the
Inside the side support part that is formed to protrude
Inside the side support section and in front of the vehicle body.
From the side in the order of the airbag and inflator
The airbag is deployed at the side support when deployed.
From the seat to the occupant side.
Characterized in that it is configured.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the side support portion of the seat back is
A reinforcing member is provided in the front and rear direction of the vehicle body, and the reinforcing portion
On the side of the vehicle body opposite to the occupant across the
The bag unit is housed and arranged .

[0008] According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect of the present invention, the airbag unit is provided with the reinforcing member.
The inflator is located at a position behind the front end.
Characterized in that that.

[0009]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the airbag unit including the inflator and the airbag is housed and arranged inside the seat back, even if the door enters the vehicle interior at the time of a side collision, the air is released. The relative speed between the bag and the occupant does not increase, and even if the occupant slides the seat back and forth to adjust the position, there is no problem that the position of the occupant deviates from the position regulated by the airbag device. Protection performance can be improved. Furthermore, since the airbag and the inflator are linearly housed and arranged in the side support portion of the seat back from the front side of the vehicle body in the order of the airbag, the airbag collides with the occupant when the airbag is deployed, It is possible to solve the problem that the development in a suitable direction is hindered.

[0010] Further, since the side support portion in which the airbag unit is housed and arranged protrudes toward the occupant,
It is possible to further solve the problems that the airbag collides with the occupant when the airbag is deployed, and that the airbag is prevented from being deployed in a suitable direction due to the collision with the occupant.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a reinforcing member is provided in the vehicle body front-rear direction in the side support portion in which the airbag unit is housed and arranged, and the airbag unit is disposed on the vehicle body side wall of the reinforcing member. Therefore, it is possible to suppress the impact on the occupant when the airbag is deployed.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a reinforcing member is provided in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body in the side support portion in which the airbag unit is housed and arranged, and the reinforcing member is on the side of the vehicle body and behind the front end of the reinforcing member. Since the inflator is disposed at the side position, it is possible to further suppress the impact on the occupant when the airbag is deployed.

[0013]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings.

Embodiment 1 In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a vehicle seat, which includes a seat cushion 2, a seat back 3, and a headrest 4, and an airbag device 5 is embedded in a side portion of the seat cushion 2. ing.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the airbag device 5 has an inflator 8 and an airbag 9 housed in a casing 7 to which an airbag lid 6 is attached so as to be openable and closable. Cushion material 2a
Buried inside. When the airbag lid 6 is opened, the seam 2b is cut so that the seam is cut.
c is formed. When the airbag lid 6 is pressed by the deployment pressure of the airbag 10 at the time of a side collision or the like, the breaking part 2c is broken, and the lid part 2d of the seat cushion 2 is opened together with the airbag grid 6, and the airbag lid 6 is opened. 9 is configured to extend between the door 10 as the vehicle body side wall and the occupant M in the vertical direction from below to above. 11 is a seat frame, 12
Denotes an armrest formed on the door trim 14.

The air bag grid 6 is provided with a guide means 15 for restricting the deployment angle shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, and is constructed so as not to open more than a predetermined opening degree, so that the air bag 9 does not escape to the side. It has become. This is because if the opening angle of the airbag grid 6 is not restricted, the airbag 9 is deployed below the armrest 13 as shown by a chain line in FIG. 2 and does not extend to the chest M1 of the occupant M but the chest M1 of the occupant M.
Is not protected.

The air bag lid 6 is provided with a lid body 6a.
Has side plate portions 6b on the left and right sides thereof, and the side plate portions 6b are pivotally attached to the casing 7 together with the slide plate 16. In the side plate portion 6b, arc-shaped long holes 6c and 6d around the rotation shaft 17 are formed, and stopper pins 18 and 18 erected from the slide plate 16 can slide in the long holes 6c and 6d. Is engaged. The slide plate 16 is provided at its end with a locking portion 7 on the side edge of the casing 7 when the lid is opened.
A locking portion 16a is formed to engage with a. As shown in FIG. 6, a leaf spring member 19 having a narrowest portion 19a is attached to the end of the long hole 6c (6d) so as to regulate the relationship between the air bag lid 6 and the slide plate 16. Has become.

With the above structure, the side collision is detected by the collision detection mechanism (two independent systems disposed on the left and right sides of the vehicle) by the impact sensor S disposed on the door 10 and detecting the side collision. Then, an initiating signal for deploying the airbag 9 is sent to the inflator 8.

In response to this signal, the inflator 8 explodes, the airbag 9 inflates, and presses the airbag lid 6 in the opening direction. This pressing force breaks the break portion 2c of the seat skin 2b, and opens the airbag lid 6 together with the lid portion 2d (see the broken line in FIG. 3).

When the air bag grid 6 is opened, the air bag grid 6 is first opened by the engagement between the elongated holes 6c, 6d and the stopper pins 18, 18 in the side plate portion 6b and the slide plate 16. It is released to the degree. At this time, the stopper pin 18 is connected to the narrowest portion 19a of the leaf spring member 19.
And it is difficult to move between the narrowest portion 19a and the end portion.
Is maintained in a predetermined coupled state.

Then, with the rotation of the air bag grid 6, the slide plate 16 rotates, and the locking portion 16a of the slide plate 16 rotates until it engages with the locking portion 7a of the casing 7. As a result, the opening of the air bag grid 6 changes to the second set opening and is regulated.

As a result, although the airbag device 5 is provided on the seat cushion 2 (seat seat 1) below the armrest 13, the deployment direction of the airbag 9 is regulated by the airbag grid 6, so that the armrest 1
3, the space between the door 10 and the occupant M is vertically expanded from below to above, and the protection of the occupant M is ensured.

In the above embodiment, the slide plate 16 is used, but it can be omitted as shown in FIG. In this case, the long holes 6e, 6
The stopper pins 18 and 18 that engage with f are erected on the casing 7. Further, a leaf spring member similar to the leaf spring member 19 is disposed at the ends of the long holes 6e and 6f so as to maintain the open state.

Also, as shown in FIG.
An airbag device (not shown) is provided at an upper position in 3,
For example, the guide means 15 shown in FIGS. 4 and 5 can be applied to a structure in which the airbag is deployed from the airbag grid 13a formed on the upper portion.

Further, in order to protect the waist M2 of the occupant M first, as shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, the airbag 2 of the airbag device 20 disposed on the side of the seat cushion 2 is provided.
1 is divided into an upper airbag 21A and a lower airbag 21B, and a pressure control valve 22 is interposed in a partition 21C therebetween to inflate the lower airbag 21B earlier than the upper airbag 21A. You can also. In this way, the airbag 21 deployed vertically from the side of the seat cushion 2 first inflates to the height of the waist M2 of the occupant M, thereby protecting the waist M2 of the occupant M, and then the chest M1.
To the height of Accordingly, the waist M1 and the chest M2 of the occupant M correspond to the contact timing with the inner surface of the door 10.
The airbag 21 is deployed in this order, so that more efficient shock absorption can be performed. P indicates the bumper position.

Embodiment 2 This embodiment is an example in which an airbag device is provided in a seat back.

As shown in FIG. 11 and FIG.
An airbag device 31 is disposed on the side of the seat back 3 so that the airbag 32 is deployed between the door 10 and the occupant M in the front-rear direction from the rear to the front in the event of a side collision.

The airbag device 31 has an inflator 34 housed in a casing 33 together with the airbag 32, and is embedded in a cushion 3 a of the seat back 3. The airbag 32 has a thin elliptical shape so that the side of the occupant can be sufficiently protected.

Although not specifically shown, the casing 33 is provided with an air bag grid 35, for example, as shown in FIGS.
A guide means for regulating the opening degree is provided in the same manner as shown in FIG. The casing 33 is fixed to the seat frame 37 via a reinforcing member 36 for attachment.

According to the above-described structure, at the time of a side collision, when an initiating signal for deploying the airbag 32 is sent to the inflator 34, the inflator 34 explodes and the airbag 32 is inflated, and the airbag grid is inflated. 35
Is pressed in the opening direction. The airbag lid 35 is opened by this pressing force.

At this time, the opening of the airbag lid 35 is restricted by the guide means for restricting the opening of the airbag lid 35 as described above, and the airbag lid 35 is merely opened.

As a result, the deployment direction of the airbag 32 is regulated by the airbag grid 35, and the airbag 32 is deployed in the front-rear direction between the door 10 and the occupant M so as to be deployed toward the occupant. Becomes

Embodiment 3 In this embodiment, the airbag device is rotated to direct the airbag toward the occupant.

13 and 14, in the airbag device 41, a casing 42 is buried in the side of the seat back 3 as in the case of the second embodiment. It is attached to a frame 45 which is attached and fixed so that it can be displaced outward.

More specifically, in the casing 42, a shaft member 46 is provided upright on the upper and lower surfaces of the rear end portion.
Is restricted by the first restricting portion 45a of the frame 45 from moving outward by a predetermined amount or more. On the other hand, the front end portion is rotatably connected to the frame 45 via the link member 47, and is positioned outward by the engagement between the engaging portion 47a of the link member 47 and the second regulating portion 45b of the frame 45. Movement beyond a certain amount is regulated. In this manner, the guide means for rotating the airbag device 41 and deploying the airbag 48 toward the occupant when the airbag 48 is deployed is configured. Note that 49
Is an inflator and 50 is an air bag grid.

With this configuration, when the airbag is inflated, the casing 42 is expelled by the explosive force of the inflator 49.
The front end moves largely outward while the rear end moves small outward. The outward movement of the shaft member 46 by a predetermined amount or more is prevented by the first regulating portion 4 of the frame 45.
5a, the amount of outward movement of the front end by the link member 47 is also regulated by the engagement between the engaging portion 47a of the link member 47 and the second regulating portion 45b of the frame 45,
As a result, the front end of the casing 42 is displaced outward more than the rear end.

As described above, the front end of the casing 42 is displaced outward more greatly than the rear end, and the front end of the casing 42 is directed between the door and the occupant. Since the airbag 48 is inflated and deployed, the airbag 48 is deployed between the door and the occupant in a front-to-rear direction and directed forward from the rear to the occupant side, so that the side portion of the occupant M can be protected.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating an energy absorbing structure of a vehicle body side portion according to a first embodiment.

FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a deployment direction of an airbag.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the air bag grid in a closed state.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the air bag grid in an open state.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an end of a long hole.

FIG. 7 is a view similar to FIG. 4 of a modified example.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram when an airbag device is provided on an armrest.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram in a case where an airbag is configured by an upper bag and a lower bag.

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a partition portion of the airbag.

FIG. 11 is a view similar to FIG. 1 for a second embodiment.

FIG. 12 is a sectional view taken along line BB in FIG. 11;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of the air bag grid in a closed state according to the third embodiment.

FIG. 14 is a sectional view of the airbag lid in an open state.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Seat seat 2 Seat cushion 3 Seat back 5,31,41 Airbag device 6,35,50 Airbag grid 8,34,49 Inflator 9,32,48 Airbag 10 Door 13 Armrest 15 Guide means S Impact sensor (impact detection) means)

Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Hideki Nishitake 3-1, Shinchi, Fuchu-cho, Aki-gun, Hiroshima Prefecture Inside Mazda Co., Ltd. (56) References JP-A-60-234037 (JP, A) JP-A-60-240535 (JP, A) JP-A-4-166452 (JP, A) JP-A-1-117957 (JP, U) JP-A-58-130850 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁶⁾ B60R 21/16-21/32 B60N 2/00-2/54

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A air bag apparatus for side collision to deploy between the vehicle body side wall and the occupant and <br/> constituting a vehicle body side portion in the longitudinal direction
An energy absorbing structure on a side of a vehicle body provided on a slidable seat, comprising: an impact detecting means for detecting an impact force inputted to the vehicle body; and an inflation operating based on a signal from the impact detecting means.
And the inflator fixed to the inflator
Airbag unit having an airbag deployed by actuation
A knit, and the airbag unit has a backrest at a central portion of the seat back.
Formed integrally on both sides of the waist and projecting toward the occupant
It is arranged in the side support part that was
The airbag is mounted on the side support portion from the front side of the vehicle body.
And linearly arranged in the order of the inflator.
The airbag is directed from the side support section to the occupant side.
An energy absorbing structure for a vehicle body side portion, wherein the energy absorbing structure is configured to be deployed forward of the vehicle body . 2. A seat support part for the seat back.
Is provided with a reinforcing member in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle body,
On the side of the vehicle body opposite to the occupant across the reinforcing member
2. The energy absorbing structure according to claim 1, wherein said airbag unit is housed and arranged . 3. The airbag unit according to claim 2 , wherein the reinforcing portion is
An inflator is located at a position behind the front end of the material.
Energy absorbing structure of a vehicle body side portion according to claim 2, wherein the are.