KR101807661B1 - Curtain airbag of vehicle - Google Patents

Abstract

A curtain airbag of a vehicle is provided. The airbag is folded to be adjacent to a loop of a vehicle, and is unfolded downward between an inner side of the vehicle and the passenger in the event of a vehicular collision. The airbag includes an external panel facing a side of the vehicle and an inner panel facing the passenger in the event of expansion. The air bag includes a head prevention unit preventing users head from rotating and moving forward, wherein the head prevention unit has an expansion thickness which is limited by the external panel and the inner panel at a portion at which the passengers head is in contact due to a vehicular collision and is gradually increased toward the front side of the vehicle. The airbag can efficiently reduce damage to the brain of a passenger by efficiently preventing the passengers head from rotating and moving forward the vehicle when the vehicle collides.

Description

[0001] CURTAIN AIRBAG OF VEHICLE [0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a safeguard apparatus for an automobile, and more particularly, to a curtain airbag of an automobile which is inflated between an occupant and an inner surface of the automobile in the event of a collision of an automobile to protect the occupant.

In general, a vehicle airbag device is a safety device for protecting an occupant by injecting gas into an airbag in response to a signal from an impact sensor in the event of an automobile collision, thereby rapidly inflating the airbag.

An inflatable safety restraint such as an airbag is mandatory in most new cars. The airbag is typically installed as part of a system with an airbag module in the instrument panel and a steering wheel on the driver's side of the vehicle. In the event of a car crash, the sensor inside the car measures the abnormal deceleration and triggers the ignition of the load in the inflator.

Gas expanding from the load travels through the conduit to burn the airbag, which immediately inflates in front of the driver and occupant thereby protecting the driver and occupant from dangerous collisions inside the vehicle. Normally, the airbag is installed in the trim of the vehicle so as not to be visible during normal vehicle operation.

Airbag systems have also been developed that provide similar protection between the interior side of the vehicle and the occupant to protect against side impacts of the vehicle. Such a situation occurs when another vehicle collides with the side of the vehicle, or when the side of the vehicle repeatedly collides with the ground. Side impact airbags are often referred to as inflatable curtain airbags. Many curtain airbags are housed along corners where the roof of the car meets the side windows and pillars. Such a curtain airbag can be accommodated behind the headliner trim at the edge of the headliner, which is a fabric covering the roof of an automobile.

Recent safety standards, published by governments around the world, call for greater protection in the face of frontal or frontal collisions. There is also a continuing need to provide an airbag system which is economical in manufacturing and installation and which allows automakers to avoid interference in deploying various features within the vehicle and to deploy quickly. It is desirable to provide an airbag system that provides protection against impact over a wide range of occupant locations as the occupants of the vehicle can be in any of a variety of locations within the vehicle at deployment of the airbag.

For example, in the case of a collision of a rollover, it is difficult to predict the posture and locus of a vehicle occupant. Therefore, a known curtain airbag designed for protection against pure lateral collision may not be in the proper position. As a result, in spite of the deployment of the airbag system, an injury due to a collision with the inner surface of the vehicle may occur or a deviation from the automobile may occur.

Also, as one recently clarified stabilization requirement, the need for enhanced protection in the case of " small overlap " and " oblique "collisions is emerging. A forward collision occurs in a relatively narrow portion in the left or right front portion of the vehicle. An oblique collision occurs when an impact at an angle occurs at the front portion, and the impact is relatively small in the left or right portion of the front of the vehicle Such collisions may cause a large deformation of the vehicle structure on the side where the impact occurs, and such collisions tend to cause the center of the vehicle to rotate and deviate from the moving line, This means that the trajectory of the passengers inside the vehicle is designed so that the airbag system provides protection, For example, in the event of an automobile collision, the occupant's head may be moved forward with a vector having front and side components, It is possible to rotate about an axis along the up and down direction of the vehicle 10. Such a tendency can increase the brain injury value of the passenger.

Many governments around the world are evaluating the safety of new cars based on collision test laws, speeding them up or changing the measurement items to more severe conditions, and publicizing test results so that people can compare the stability of cars to be.

There is a sloping side impact in the United States as a method of side impact test, and there is a right side impact in Europe.

Recently, new car safety assessments include column side collisions, while the US and European methods differ slightly in terms of collision angle and speed, while in Europe, they are evaluated by 90 ° orthogonal column side collision methods. In the United States, .

In the event of various side collisions as described above, the occupant's head can be moved forward with a vector having front and side components and can rotate about the vertical axis of the vehicle. Such vertical rotation of the vehicle in the vertical direction of the passenger's head acts as a strong element of the Brain Injury (BrIC), and therefore, an effective countermeasure has been demanded.

United States Patent Publication No. US2013 / 0200596 United States Patent Publication No. US2012 / 0256401

An object of the present invention is to provide a curtain airbag of an automobile which prevents the head of a passenger from moving against the airbag while being moved toward the front and the outside of the automobile when the automobile collides.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, a vehicle is provided in a state of being folded adjacent to a loop of an automobile and is configured to be deployed in a downward direction between an inner side of the automobile and a passenger at the time of a collision of the automobile, Wherein an expanded thickness defined by the outer panel and the inner panel at a portion of the occupant's head that is in contact with the occupant due to the impact of the vehicle is greater than an expansion thickness at the front of the vehicle And a head blocking portion configured to have a shape gradually increasing toward the front of the vehicle so as to prevent the head of the occupant from rotating while moving forward of the automobile.

Wherein the head blocking portion is defined by at least two expansion thickness limiting members provided between the outer panel and the inner panel and the at least two expansion thickness limiting members may be configured to have a longer length toward the front of the vehicle have.

Wherein the expansion thickness limiting member comprises a separate tether member connected between the outer panel and the inner panel; Or an inner tether portion woven integrally with the outer panel and the inner panel by a one-piece woven method during the weaving of the outer panel and the inner panel.

The inflation thickness restricting member may include a non-inflating region that defines an inflating volume of the front portion of the head blocking portion larger than an inflation volume of the rear portion of the head blocking portion.

The non-inflated region may be defined by a sewing line connecting the outer panel and the inner panel.

Wherein the sewing line includes a front sewing line formed so as to protrude from a lower portion of the curtain airbag to a top of the curtain airbag and a rear sewing line extending from a position of a lower portion of the curtain airbag, And a rear sewing line that is inclined upward toward an intermediate portion along the longitudinal direction of the curtain airbag.

The rear sewing line may be formed in an arc shape, a wavy shape, or a step shape.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, in the event of an automobile collision, the inflation thickness of the portion of the curtain airbag where the head of a passenger collides with the curtain airbag is gradually increased toward the front of the automobile so that the head of the explorer moves , It is possible to effectively reduce the brain injury value of the occupant by preventing rotation about the vertical center axis of the vehicle.

1 is a view showing the configuration of a curtain airbag housed in a structure in an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention.
2 is a view showing a configuration of an inflated curtain airbag according to the present invention.
3 is a cross-sectional view taken along line III-III in FIG. 2;
Fig. 4 is a view for explaining a manner in which the tether of Fig. 2 is integrally formed with an inner panel and an outer panel.
Fig. 5 is a view for explaining another manner in which the tether of Fig. 2 is integrally formed with the inner panel and the outer panel.
6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a curtain airbag with an inner tether portion defining a head restraint in accordance with the present invention.
7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a curtain airbag provided with a separate tether member defining a head restraint according to the present invention.
8 is a view showing a configuration of another inflated curtain airbag according to the present invention.
9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Fig.
10 is a partial side view showing a configuration of a curtain airbag having a rear sewing line according to another embodiment of the present invention.
11 is a partial side view showing the configuration of a curtain airbag having a rear sewing line according to another embodiment of the present invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be embodied in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the embodiments set forth herein. Rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, It is provided to let you know.

Hereinafter, reference symbol F denotes the front of the automobile to which the curtain airbag of the present invention is applied, reference symbol R denotes the rear of the automobile, reference symbol U denotes the upper side of the automobile and reference symbol L denotes the lower side of the automobile. Reference I denotes the inner direction of the vehicle in the width direction of the vehicle, and reference reference symbol O denotes the outer direction of the vehicle in the width direction of the vehicle. The front and rear (F, R) directions of the automobile can be expressed in the horizontal direction, and the up and down (U, L) directions of the automobile can be expressed in the vertical direction.

FIG. 1 is a view showing a configuration of a curtain airbag housed in a structure in an automobile according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a view showing a configuration of an expanded curtain airbag according to the present invention.

Referring to Figs. 1 and 2, the curtain airbag 30 is mounted in the roof side rail 1 of the vehicle in a folded or retracted state. Generally, the roof side rail 1 is covered with the roof trim and is not visible from the inside of the automobile. A plurality of occupants supporting the loop are connected to the roof side rail (1). These passengers are called the front pillar 3, the center pillar 5, and the rear pillar 7, respectively, in front of the car rotor. The passenger may include an additional pillar (so-called " D-pillar ") on the rear side of the rear pillar 7 as necessary.

The curtain airbag 30 is formed into a bag shape by a sewing or a one-piece woven method of the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 33 to be described later.

The curtain airbag 30 is connected to an inflator 9 for generating gas. When a side collision or overturn of the automobile occurs, a sensor (not shown) provided to the automobile first detects the impact, and an ignition signal is transmitted to the inflator 9. [ The gas in the inflator 9 is ignited to generate gas, and the gas generated from the inflator 9 is supplied into the curtain airbag 30.

Upon receiving gas from the inflator 9, the curtain airbag 30 inflates and deploys downward along the inner side of the vehicle to protect the occupant. The curtain airbag 30 can protect the occupants of the front seat 21 and the rear seat 23 simultaneously.

The curtain airbag 30 may have a front protection area A1 and a rear protection area A2 when inflated. The front protection area A1 can entirely cover the side surfaces of the vehicle from the front pillar 3 of the vehicle to the center pillar 5 of the vehicle and the rear protection area A2 can cover the side surfaces of the vehicle from the center pillar 5 of the vehicle The side surfaces of the automobile reaching the rear pillar 7 of the vehicle can be entirely covered.

The curtain airbag 30 has a bag shape that defines an inflatable space therein by the front and rear walls 32c and 32d and the upper and lower walls 32b and 32a.

The front protection area A1 of the curtain airbag 30 is defined by the chamber walls 34a and 34b and the rear protection areas A2 are defined by the chamber walls 34c and 34d To define a plurality of rear chambers (C4, C5, C6).

In the event of a collision of the vehicle, such as a side collision, the front chamber C3 is substantially in contact with the head of the occupant seated on the front seat 21. Hereinafter, the portion corresponding to the front chamber C3 will be referred to as a head blocking portion 35. [

The upper, lower, front and rear walls 32b, 32a, 32c and 32d and the chamber walls 34a, 34b, 34c and 34d described above are used for sewing the inner and outer panels 33 and 31 of the curtain airbag 30, Can be formed by a method of woven by a one-piece woven method. Alternatively, the upper, lower, front and rear walls 32b, 32a, 32c and 32d and the chamber walls 34a, 34b, 34c and 34d may be formed by various suitable methods such as adhesive, RF welding, ultrasonic welding and the like.

The chamber wall 34c may be formed in such a manner that the chamber C4 is communicated from the lower portion of the chamber C3 and configured to be expanded in a relatively delayed manner as compared with the other chambers including the chamber C3.

Fig. 3 is a partial plan view of the curtain airbag of Fig. 2;

In Fig. 3, the front-to-outer trajectory T of the occupant's head H relative to the automobile is shown. The front-outer locus T is a trajectory in which the head H of the occupant moves toward the front and the outside of the automobile in the event of an automobile collision, and is a locus in which the head H of the occupant moves from the solid line display state at the time of side collision. Side collisions may include various collision scenarios such as sloped side collision, right side collision, column collision, and sloped collision.

The aforementioned front-to-outer trajectory T may also occur at the time of a small overlap collision or an oblique collision of an automobile, as the case may be.

Thus, when the head H of the occupant moves along the front-outside trajectory T due to the collision of the automobile, the head H of the occupant moves toward the front of the automobile while contacting the curtain airbag 30. At this time, the head H of the occupant rotates in the clockwise direction (arrow B) about the vertical axis (Z axis) of the automobile by the friction between the head H of the passenger and the curtain airbag 30.

The Z-axis rotation of this occupant's head (H) has a significant impact on the Brain Injury Criteria (BrIC). According to the present invention, in the event of a collision of an automobile, the inflation thickness of the head blocking portion 35 of the curtain airbag 30 against which the occupant's head H strikes is increased toward the front F of the automobile. With this configuration, the head H of the occupant can be prevented from rotating in the direction of arrow B while moving to the front F of the automobile, effectively reducing the brain injury value of the occupant.

Figure 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IV-IV in Figure 2;

Referring to Fig. 4, the head restraint 35 of the curtain airbag 30 is defined by the inflation thickness restricting member 40 to have a cross-section of approximately a quasi-squared.

The inflation thickness restricting member 40 may include inner tapered portions 41a, 41b, and 41c provided between the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 33 of the curtain airbag 30. [ The inner side walls 41a, 41b and 41c are connected to the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 33 by a one-piece woven method during the manufacture of the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 31 Can be woven together with the inner and outer panels (33, 31).

That is, the inner side walls 41a, 41b, and 41c are formed integrally with the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 31. [ The inner and outer panels 33 and 31 are formed by weaving or weaving the outer panels 33 and 31 during weaving of the inner panel 33 and the outer panel 31, 31 or may incorporate an additional yarn into the warp or weft forming the inner and outer panels 33, 31 and integrally formed with the inner and outer panels 33, 31.

The length L1 of the inner side portion 41a is larger than the length L2 of the inner side portion 41b and the length L3 of the inner side portion 41c is larger than the length L2 of the inner side portion 41b. Is less than the length. With such a configuration, the cross-sectional expansion thickness of the head blocking portion 35 can have a substantially non-rectangular shape.

5 is a view illustrating a system in which an inner tether unit is integrally formed between an inner panel and an outer panel according to an embodiment of the present invention.

4 and 5, the inner panel 33 is a woven layer formed by a warp T and a weft S, and the outer panel 31 is formed by a warp T and a weft S, Respectively. An additional yarn M is woven a certain distance into the inner panel 33 along the direction of the warp T or weft S of the inner panel 33 and after being extended to the outer panel 31, (S) direction into the outer panel (31). This process is repeated to integrally weave the inner tether portions 41a, 41b, 41c rk between the inner and outer panels 33, 31. In Fig. 5, the yarn M is woven in the warp (T) direction.

6 is a partial cross-sectional view of a curtain airbag with an inner tether portion defining a head restraint in accordance with the present invention.

4 and 6, the warp T and the weft S are separated from the surface area formed by the inner panel 11 and grow toward the outer panel 31, The inner panel 33 and the outer panel 31 may be integrally formed with the inner terminals 41a, 41b, and 41c connected to the weft yarn. In the drawing, it is shown that the warp T of the inner tedders 41a, 41b, 41c leaves the surface of the inner panel 33 and enters the outer panel 31.

The inner side walls 41a, 41b and 41c may be integrally formed with the inner and outer panels 33 and 32 between the inner and outer panels 33 and 31 by various weaving methods other than the above-described method.

7 is a partial cross-sectional view of a curtain airbag provided with a separate tether member defining a head restraint according to the present invention.

7, the inflation thickness restricting member 40 of the head blocking portion 35 is provided with a tether member 43a, 43b, 43c (not shown) connected between the outer panel 31 of the curtain airbag 30 and the inner panel 33 ). The tether members 43a, 43b and 43c are provided as separate members from the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 33 of the curtain airbag 30 and are connected to the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 33, (Not shown).

The tether members 43a, 43b and 43c are configured such that their length increases toward the front F so that the expansion thickness between the inner and outer panels 33 and 31 of the curtain airbag 30 is directed toward the front F The more it increases.

Fig. 8 is a view showing a configuration of another inflated curtain airbag according to the present invention, and Fig. 9 is a cross-sectional view taken along line IX-IX of Fig.

In the following description, the same components as those of the above-described configuration are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

8 and 9, the inflation thickness restricting member 40 of the head blocking portion 35 of the curtain airbag 30 inflates the expansion volume of the front portion 35a of the head blocking portion 35 to the head blocking portion 35 Inflated regions 45,46 that define the expansion volume of the rear portion 35b of the first and second tubes 35 and 35 to be greater than the expansion volume thereof.

The non-inflated regions 45, 46 may be defined by a sewing line connecting the outer panel 31 and the inner panel 33. In another embodiment, the non-inflated regions 45,46 may be formed by a one-piece woven method. In another embodiment, the upper, lower, front and rear walls 32b, 32a, 32c and 32d and the chamber walls 34a, 34b, 34c and 34d can be formed by various suitable methods such as adhesive, RF welding, ultrasonic welding, .

The sewing line defining the non-inflated regions 45 and 46 includes a front sewing line 47 formed to protrude from the lower wall 32a of the curtain airbag 30 to the top of the curtain airbag 30, To a rear portion (R) and an upper portion (U) of the curtain airbag from a position at a lower portion of the curtain airbag (30) spaced rearward from the curtain airbag (30) And a formed backward sewing line 48.

The expansion thickness T1 of the front portion 35a of the head blocking portion 35 is defined to be larger than the expansion thickness T2 of the rear portion 35b of the head blocking portion 35. As a result, The cross-sectional shape of the branch portion 35 can take a substantially univariate rectangular shape. As a result, a collision of the vehicle, for example, a side collision, causes the head of the occupant to hit the curtain airbag 30 while moving toward the front F of the automobile, and the friction between the curtain airbag 30 and the head of the occupant Can be effectively prevented from rotating about the vertical axis of the automobile. The position and shape of the sewing line are not limited to the above-described examples and can be variously changed. In Fig. 8, the rear sewing line 48 is shown to have an arcuate curved shape. However, the shape of the rear sewing line 48 is not limited to this, and can be modified into various shapes.

Fig. 10 is a partial side view showing a configuration of a curtain airbag having a rear sewing line according to another embodiment of the present invention, and Fig. 11 is a view showing a configuration of a curtain airbag having a rear sewing line according to another embodiment of the present invention One is a side view.

Fig. 10 shows a curtain airbag 30 having a roughly wavy rear sewing line 48a, and Fig. 11 shows a curtain airbag 30 having a rear stitching line 48b having a generally stepped shape.

As described above, the wavy rear sewing line 48a and the step-like rear sewing line 48b can relatively increase the length of the sewing line relatively in a predetermined limited section, for example, so that the curtain airbag 30 The bonding force of the inner and outer panels 33 and 31 can be increased.

On the other hand, when the wavy shape or the stair shape is largely limited, it is possible to realize an inflated form of a non-uniform curtain airbag, thereby increasing the effect of preventing the head of the passenger from rotating about the vertical axis of the automobile, have.

Although the present invention has been described with reference to the accompanying drawings and the preferred embodiments described above, the present invention is not limited thereto but is limited by the following claims. Accordingly, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications and changes may be made thereto without departing from the spirit of the following claims.

30: curtain airbag 33, 31: inner and outer panels
35: head closure part 40: expansion thickness limiting member
41a, 41b, 41c: inner side portions 43a, 43b, 43c:
45, 46: non-inflated areas 47, 48: front and rear sewing lines

Claims (7)

And is configured to be deployed in a downward direction between an inner side of the automobile and a passenger in the event of an automobile collision,
An outer panel facing the side of the automobile when inflated;
An inner panel facing the occupant and
At least two or more expansion thickness limiting members connecting between the outer panel and the inner panel are provided by an area set from the front to the rear of the automobile and the expansion thickness defined by the outer panel and the inner panel is changed from the rear to the front And a head blocking portion for preventing the head of the occupant from rotating while moving forward of the automobile,
Wherein the inflation thickness restricting member is formed to have a longer length toward the front of the automobile. delete 2. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the expansion thickness limiting member comprises a separate tether member connected between the outer panel and the inner panel; or
And an inner tether portion woven integrally with the outer panel and the inner panel by a one-piece woven method during woven of the outer panel and the inner panel. 2. The curtain airbag of claim 1, wherein the inflation thickness limiting member includes a non-inflated region that defines an inflation volume of the front portion of the head blocking portion to be larger than an inflation volume of the rear portion of the head blocking portion. 5. The curtain airbag of claim 4, wherein the non-inflated region is defined by a sewing line connecting the outer panel and the inner panel. 6. The curtain airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the sewing line comprises: a front sewing line formed to protrude from a lower portion of the curtain airbag to an upper portion of the curtain airbag;
And a rear sewing line inclined rearwardly and upwardly from the curtain airbag to a middle portion along the longitudinal direction of the curtain airbag from a position at a lower portion of the curtain airbag at a distance rearward from the front sewing line Curtain airbags for cars. 7. The curtain airbag of claim 6, wherein the rear sewing line is formed in an arc-like, wavy or stepped shape.

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