WO2003013916A1

WO2003013916A1 - Air bag

Info

Publication number: WO2003013916A1
Application number: PCT/JP2001/006638
Authority: WO
Inventors: Kazuhiro Nakayama; Motoaki Naruse; Toru Ozaki
Original assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
Priority date: 2001-08-01
Filing date: 2001-08-01
Publication date: 2003-02-20

Abstract

An air bag (10) having a vent hole (24) for discharging its inside gas can absorb the kinetic energy of a passenger although it is quickly expanded and inflated. For this purpose, two cover cloths (26, 28) covering the vent hole (24) is attached with a predetermined superposed portion (30) to the air bag (10). The vent hole (24) is closed till the inflation of the air bag (10) is completed. The cover cloths (26, 28) are pushed outward by the internal pressure of the airbag (10) increased when the passenger is contrained, thereby opening the vent hole (24).

Description

Description Wear Bag [Technical Field]

The present invention relates to an airbag for an airbag device provided as an occupant protection device in a vehicle such as an automobile.

[Background technology]

The airbag device operates the inflator during a vehicle collision to supply gas into the airbag, thereby inflating and deploying the airbag to receive the occupant. Some airbags for such an airbag device include vent holes for discharging gas inside.

This penthole is provided to absorb the occupant's kinetic energy by discharging the gas in the airbag from the airbag when the airbag inflates and receives the occupant.

In such an airbag with vent hole, the inflation of the gas from the vent hole is suppressed as much as possible until the inflation is completed, and when the occupant is restrained, the gas is discharged from the vent hole and the movement of the occupant is reduced. It is desirable to control the internal pressure of the airbag to absorb energy. Airbags with excellent occupant restraint performance for various types of collisions are also required. '

[Disclosure of the Invention]

The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and by finding a new structure in the bent hole portion, it is possible to absorb the kinetic energy of the occupant while expanding and expanding quickly, and Impact form An object of the present invention is to provide an airbag capable of exhibiting excellent occupant restraint performance in a vehicle.

The airbag according to the present invention is an airbag having a penthole for discharging gas therein, wherein a cover for covering the venthole is provided, and the cover is pushed and opened outward by an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag. The vent hole was opened.

According to the airbag of the present invention, since the venthole is closed by the cover, outflow of gas from the venthole is prevented, and the airbag can be quickly inflated. Then, when the internal pressure of the airbag becomes higher than a predetermined value, such as by receiving the occupant, the cover is pushed outward and the vent hole is opened, and gas is exhausted, thereby absorbing the occupant's energy. Can receive the occupant.

In the case of conventional airbags with vent holes, gas is exhausted from the penthole at once when the occupant is restrained. On the other hand, in the case of the airbag of the present invention, when the internal pressure of the airbag becomes higher than a predetermined pressure when the occupant is restrained, the cover of the vent hole is opened, and the opening of the cover changes due to the internal pressure, and the gas exhaust is performed. The amount can be controlled. Further, it is possible to maintain the internal pressure of the airbag at a certain level or more for a predetermined time. This not only improves the energy absorption performance of the occupants, but also demonstrates excellent restraint performance in various types of collisions.

In the airbag according to the present invention, the cover may include a plurality of covers provided inside the airbag with a predetermined overlapping portion. In this case, the overlapping portion of the cover piece is pushed open outward due to an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag. Also, the kinetic energy absorption of the occupant can be easily adjusted by simple adjustment of the shape, arrangement, and installation method of the plurality of covers. '

This airbag accepts gas from inflation overnight.

Z The cover comprises an upstream force bar and a downstream force bar with respect to a gas flow supplied into the airbag from the opening, and both of the cover have a predetermined overlapping portion and have a predetermined overlapping portion. It is attached to the inside of the bag, and there is a case where the upstream cover piece is disposed inside the downstream cover piece at the overlapping portion. In this way, the gas flow from the inflation evening is discharged through the vent hole as it is by stacking the cover piece on the upstream side of the gas flow inside the airbag rather than the force piece on the downstream side. Can be prevented.

Further, in this airbag, the edge of the overlapping portion of either the upstream cover piece or the downstream cover piece has a linear shape, and the edge of the other overlapping portion has a concave shape. Is also good. As a result, it is possible to prevent the gas leakage at the time of inflation of the airbag and to easily open the overlapping portion by increasing the internal pressure.

In the airbag of the present invention, as the cover piece, a flexible sheet material that does not allow gas to pass, such as cloth or film, can be used. Also, a coated cloth can be used. When a cloth is used as the cover piece, the cloth may be inclined with respect to the overlapping portion. In this case, the piece of the cover is easily extended in the longitudinal direction of the overlapping portion, and is easily pushed open.

In the airbag of the present invention, the overlapping portion may be substantially perpendicular to a straight line connecting the opening and the bent hole. By making the overlapping portion substantially orthogonal to the gas flow in this way, it is possible to effectively reduce the gas flow from the inflation overnight through the vent hole as it is. [Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective cross-sectional view of a main part showing an internal structure of an airbag according to one embodiment of the present invention, 2A is a cross-sectional view of the airbag when the airbag is deployed and inflated, FIG. 2B is a cross-sectional view of the airbag when the occupant is restrained,

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the vent hole of the airbag viewed from the inside of the airbag.

FIG. 4 is a perspective cross-sectional view of the state in which the vent hole is open as viewed from the outside of the airbag.

FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a modified example of the bent hole portion.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing still another modified example of the bent hole portion. [Best Mode for Carrying Out the Invention]

An airbag 10 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. This airbag 10 is composed of two substantially circular cloths, that is, an inflation overnight panel 12 and an occupant side. The panel 14 is formed into an inflatable bag shape by suturing the peripheral edges of both panels 16 together.

The inflation overnight side panel 12 has a circular opening 18 in the center for receiving gas from the inflation overnight 8. A circular reinforcing cloth 20 is attached to the opening 18 by sewing 22. As shown in FIG. 2, the gas outlet 8A of the inflator 8 is introduced from the opening 18 and the inflator 8 is inflated through the retainer 6 to the inflator panel 1 2 It is attached to.

The inflation evening side panel 12 has a plurality of vent holes 24 around its periphery. The vent hole 24 has a rectangular shape, and is disposed so that a pair of opposite sides is substantially perpendicular to the radial direction of the inflator side panel 12.

The vent hole 24 is covered with two rectangular cover cloths 26 and 28. The two covers 26 and 28 are attached to the inflation overnight side panel 12 from the inside of the airbag 10. As shown in Figure 3, The cover fabrics 26 and 28 cover the vent hole 24 approximately by half, respectively, and are arranged so as to have a predetermined overlapping portion 30 at the center of the vent hole 24. It is secured around the vent hole 24 by means of a rectangular 'sew' 32 surrounding it. That is, the cover cloths 26, 28 are sewn to the inflatable side panel 12 with three sides of the rectangle by sewing 32, and the other side, which is not sewn, is overlapped with each other to form a strip. An overlapping portion 30 is formed.

As shown in FIG. 1, the two cover cloths 26, 28 are formed on the upstream side and the downstream side with respect to the gas flow G blown out from the opening 18 along the inner surface of the inflation overnight side panel 12. It is arranged in. That is, the upstream cover cloth 26 located on the side close to the opening 18 and the downstream cover cloth 28 located on the side far from the opening 18. These are arranged so that the upstream side power bar cloth 26 is located inside the downstream side cover cloth 28 at the overlapping portion 30, that is, on the downstream side cover cloth 28. The upstream cover cloth 26 is overlaid.

The overlapping portion 30 is disposed so as to be substantially perpendicular to a straight line connecting the opening 18 and the center of the vent hole 24. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, the flow direction of the gas flow G blown out from the opening 18 and the longitudinal direction of the overlapping portion 30 are arranged substantially orthogonally.

In this embodiment, both the upstream cover cloth 26 and the downstream cover cloth 28 have straight edges 26 A and 28 A at the overlapping portion 30, and therefore have a constant width. A band-shaped overlapping portion 30 is formed. As shown in Figs. 5 and 6, the shape of the overlapping portion 30 is such that the edge 26A of the upstream cover 26 is straight and the edge 28A of the downstream cover 28 is concave. The shape may be a band confined in the center. Specifically, the edge 28A of the downstream cover cloth 28 is curved in an arc shape in the example shown in FIG. 5, and is formed in a V-shape in the example shown in FIG. The overlapping part 30 has such a constricted shape With this configuration, the cover cloths 26 and 28 can be easily pushed open by an increase in the internal pressure of the airbag 10. ''

As shown in FIG. 3, the cover fabrics 26 and 28 are arranged such that the direction of the fabric, that is, the direction of the constituent yarns is obliquely inclined with respect to the longitudinal direction of the overlapping portion 30. By inclining in this manner, the edges 26,, 28 の of the cover cloths 26, 28 are easily stretched, and the cover cloths 26, 28 are easily pushed open by the rise in the internal pressure of the airbag 10. Become. In the present embodiment, the mesh of the cover 26 26 28 is inclined at approximately 45 ° with respect to the overlapping portion 30 so that the edge 26 A 28 A is stretched most easily.

The airbag 10 of the present embodiment configured as described above has an inflator 8 attached to an opening 18 thereof, and is folded in a predetermined shape to be stored in a predetermined space in a vehicle interior such as a steering wheel central portion. Stored in the department. Then, at the time of vehicle collision, the gas is expanded and inflated by the gas flow G radially blown into the airbag 10 from the gas blowing portion 8A of the inflation overnight 8.

At this time, until the deployment and inflation of the airbag 10 is completed, as shown in FIG. 2A, since the vent hole 24 is closed by the covers 26, 28, the vent hole 24 is closed. The outflow of gas is prevented and the airbag 10 inflates quickly. In particular, in the overlapping portion 30, the upstream cover 26 is disposed inside the bag more than the downstream force cover 28, so that the inflation—even along the inner surface of the evening panel 12. The radially flowing gas flow G can be prevented from being discharged through the overlapping portion 30 as it is.

When the airbag 10 receives the occupant 拘束 and the internal pressure rises and exceeds a predetermined pressure when the occupant is restrained, as shown in FIGS. The bag is pushed open toward the outside of the bag 10, thereby opening the vent hole 24 and discharging gas. By discharging the gas in this manner, the airbag 10 can absorb the kinetic energy of the occupant 0 and receive the occupant 0. The above cover cloth 2 6 Since the opening degree of the air bag changes depending on the internal pressure of the airbag, the amount of gas discharged from the vent hole can be controlled, and the internal pressure of the airbag is maintained at a predetermined level for a predetermined time. It is possible to do. Therefore, the energy absorption performance of the occupant is excellent, and excellent occupant restraint performance can be exhibited even in various types of collisions.

The setting of the predetermined pressure (that is, the internal pressure of the airbag 10 when the vent hole 24 is opened) depends on the shape of the cover cloth 26, 28, the overlap margin of the two and the shape of the overlapping portion 30, The adjustment can be performed by adjusting the position and shape of the sewing 32, the shape of the bent hole 24, and the angle between the cover cloths 26 and 28 relative to the overlapping portion 30.

As described above, the airbag 10 of the present embodiment has a simple structure in which the two cover cloths 26 and 28 cover the vent hole 24 with a predetermined overlap, but is quickly deployed and inflated, and It can effectively absorb the kinetic energy of the occupants and exhibits excellent restraint performance in various types of collisions.

In the above embodiment, the airbag formed by joining the peripheral portions of two circular cloths generally used as an airbag for a driver's seat has been described. The present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention can be similarly applied to an airbag having a generally inverted quadrangular pyramid shape generally used as a passenger airbag.

[Industrial applicability]

According to the airbag of the present invention, the airbag can be quickly inflated to form a predetermined shape, and the kinetic energy of the occupant can be effectively absorbed by controlling the internal pressure of the bag. Excellent occupant restraint performance can be demonstrated.

Claims

The scope of the claims

1. In an airbag that has a vent hole for exhausting the gas inside the airbag,

An airbag provided with a cover for covering the vent hole, and the cover is pushed outward by the rise of the internal pressure of the airbag to open the penthole.

2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the cover comprises a plurality of covers provided on the airbag with a predetermined overlapping portion.

3. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the cover comprises a plurality of cover pieces provided inside the airbag with a predetermined overlapping portion.

4. With openings to accept gas from overnight inflation,

The cover comprises an upstream force bar and a downstream cover with respect to a gas flow supplied into the airbag from the opening, and both are attached to the inside of the airbag with a predetermined overlapping portion. Yes,

4. The airbag according to claim 3, wherein an upstream cover piece is disposed inside the downstream cover piece in the overlapping portion.

5. The edge of the overlapping portion of either the upstream side or the downstream side has a linear shape, and the edge of the other covering portion has a concave shape in the overlapping portion. Item 4. The airbag according to item 4.

6. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the cover piece is made of a cloth, and the cloth is inclined with respect to the overlapping portion.

7. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein a texture of the cover piece is inclined at approximately 45 ° with respect to the overlapping portion.

8. The airbag according to claim 2, wherein the vent hole has a substantially rectangular shape.

9. The airbag according to claim 4, wherein the overlapping portion is substantially perpendicular to a straight line connecting the opening and the penthole.