JP7604905B2 - Side airbag device for vehicle - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a side airbag device for a vehicle.

Patent Document 1 discloses a side airbag that inflates and deploys to the side of an occupant during a side collision. The side airbag disclosed in Patent Document 1 is configured to include a head protection inflatable portion that restrains the occupant's head, a lumbar protection inflatable portion that restrains the occupant's lumbar region, and an intermediate inflatable portion that connects the head protection inflatable portion and the lumbar protection inflatable portion. Patent Document 1 also discloses an inner tube (duct member) disposed inside the intermediate inflatable portion. This inner tube is formed in a cylindrical shape that extends in the vertical direction of the seat back, and has the gas ejection portion of the inflator inserted inside. This allows gas generated by the inflator to be distributed to the head protection inflatable portion and the lumbar protection inflatable portion via the inner tube.

JP 2011-105107 A

However, due to its weight and size, the occupant's waist requires a stronger restraining force than other parts of the body such as the head and chest.

However, in the side airbag described in Patent Document 1, the high-pressure gas supplied from the inner tube causes the lumbar protection inflatable portion to swing, resulting in an unstable deployment behavior, leaving room for improvement in terms of improving lumbar restraint performance during a side collision.

In consideration of the above, the present invention aims to provide a side airbag device for a vehicle that can improve the hip restraint performance during a side collision.

The vehicle side airbag device according to the present invention as described in claim 1 comprises a bag body that is stored inside a seat back, receives gas from an inflator when a side collision is predicted or detected, and is inflated and deployed to the side of an occupant, and has an upper chamber that covers the side of the occupant's head and a lower chamber that covers the side below the occupant's head in an inflated and deployed state, and a sock that contains a gas ejection portion of the inflator, extends in the vertical direction of the seat back inside the bag body, and distributes gas supplied from the inflator to the upper chamber and the lower chamber, wherein the sock includes a cylindrical sock base portion arranged in the vertical direction, a sock expansion portion that protrudes from a lower end of the sock base portion toward the front of the seat, faces an area that includes the center of gravity of the occupant's waist when viewed from the seat width direction, and has a gas ejection port formed therein that opens toward the upper side of the seat on the front side of the seat, and an inflator insertion portion that contains the gas ejection portion and is provided at a boundary between the sock base portion and the sock expansion portion .

In the vehicle side airbag device according to the present invention described in claim 1, a bag body is stored inside a vehicle seat, and this bag body is inflated and deployed to the side of the occupant by receiving gas from an inflator when a side collision is predicted or detected. The bag body also has an upper chamber and a lower chamber, with the upper chamber covering the side of the occupant's head and the lower chamber covering the lower side of the occupant's head. This makes it possible to protect the occupant in the event of a side collision.

A sock extending in the up-down direction of the seat back is disposed inside the bag body . The sock includes a cylindrical sock base, a sock expansion, and an inflator insertion portion disposed in the up-down direction. The sock expansion protrudes from the lower end of the sock base toward the front of the seat and faces an area including the center of gravity of the occupant's hips as viewed from the seat width direction, and has a gas outlet opening toward the upper side of the seat on the front side of the seat. The inflator insertion portion is disposed at the boundary between the sock base and the sock expansion, and includes a gas outlet . As a result, the sock distributes gas supplied from the inflator to the upper and lower chambers of the bag body. Since the sock expansion faces an area including the center of gravity of the occupant's hips as viewed from the seat width direction, the sock can quickly restrain the center of gravity of the hips by the pressure of the gas in the sock expansion during a side collision , improving the initial restraint performance of the hips .

In addition, the sock expansion section is formed with a gas outlet that opens toward the upper side of the seat, so that gas supplied from the inflator is ejected from the gas outlet of the sock expansion section toward the upper side of the seat and distributed to the lower chamber. As a result, the sock expansion section is pressed toward the lower side of the seat in reaction to the gas being ejected, effectively suppressing the rocking of the lower chamber. As a result, the deployment behavior of the lower chamber can be stabilized, and the lumbar restraint performance of the vehicle side airbag device is improved.

As described above, the vehicle side airbag device according to the present invention has the excellent effect of improving the lumbar restraint performance during a side collision.

1 is a side view showing a vehicle seat to which a vehicle side airbag device according to an embodiment is applied, showing a state in which a bag body is inflated and deployed; 1 is a front view showing a vehicle seat to which a vehicle side airbag device according to an embodiment is applied, showing a state in which a bag body is inflated and deployed; 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of a main portion taken along line 3-3 in FIG. 1; FIG. 2 is an enlarged side view showing the sock according to the embodiment, illustrating a state in which the bag body is inflated and deployed. 4A to 4C are diagrams for explaining the lumbar restraint performance of the vehicle side airbag device according to the embodiment. 13 is an enlarged side view showing a bag body of a vehicle side airbag device according to another embodiment, illustrating a state in which the bag body is inflated and deployed. FIG.

[First embodiment]
Hereinafter, the vehicle side airbag device 10 according to the first embodiment will be described with reference to Figures 1 to 5. Note that the arrows FR, UP, and RH in each figure respectively indicate the front side, upper side, and right side of the vehicle seat 14 on which the vehicle side airbag device 10 is mounted. When describing using front-rear, left-right, top-bottom directions, these directions indicate front-rear in the seat front-rear direction, left-right in the seat width direction, and top-bottom in the seat up-down direction, unless otherwise specified.

In addition, a crash test dummy P is seated in the vehicle seat 14 shown in Figures 1 to 3 in place of an actual occupant. As an example, the dummy P is an AM50 (50th percentile American adult male) of the World Side Impact Dummy (WorldSID). In the following description, the dummy is referred to as "occupant P."

(Vehicle seat 14)
1 and 2, a vehicle seat 14 equipped with a vehicle side airbag device 10 (hereinafter simply referred to as "side airbag device 10") includes a seat cushion 16, a seat back 18, and a headrest 20. As an example, the vehicle seat 14 is disposed in the driver's seat on the left side of the vehicle, so that the front of the seat coincides with the front of the vehicle. In addition, the left and right sides of the seat width direction coincide with the left and right sides of the vehicle width direction.

The seat cushion 16 extends in the front-rear and width directions of the seat and is configured to be able to support the buttocks and thighs of the occupant P. The seat back 18 is rotatably connected to the rear end of the seat cushion 16 and extends in the up-down direction of the seat and is configured to be able to support the back of the occupant P. The headrest 20 is provided at the upper end of the seat back 18 and is configured to be able to support the head H of the occupant P.

(Seatbelt device 24)
As shown in Fig. 2, an occupant P is restrained in the vehicle seat 14 by a seat belt device 24. The seat belt device 24 includes a webbing 26 that restrains the upper body and waist region L of the occupant. Note that the seat belt device 24 is omitted in Figs. 1 and 3.

The webbing 26 is formed in a long belt shape and includes a shoulder belt 26A that restrains the upper body of the occupant P to the seat back 18 when worn, and a lap belt 26B that restrains the occupant's waist L. The shoulder belt 26A extends diagonally from the left shoulder S of the occupant P to the right waist L. The lower end of the shoulder belt 26A is passed through the tongue plate 30.

The tongue plate 30 is configured to be detachable from a buckle (not shown) provided on the left side of the seat. By attaching the tongue plate 30 to the buckle, the occupant P is restrained by the webbing 26.

One end of the webbing 26 is passed through the tongue plate 30 and folded back to extend to the left side of the seat, and this portion extending in the seat width direction forms the lap belt 26B. Therefore, the right end of the lap belt 26B is connected to the lower end of the shoulder belt 26A. In addition, the left end of the lap belt 26B is fixed to a belt anchor (not shown) provided on the floor panel.

The upper end of the shoulder belt 26A is wound around a shoulder anchor (not shown) provided on the vehicle body. The end of the webbing 26 is wound around a retractor (not shown).

(Vehicle side airbag device 10)
As shown in FIG. 2 , the side airbag device 10 includes a bag body 12 , an inflator 42 , and a sock 44 .

The bag body 12 is stored inside the seat back 18 and is inflated by the gas generated by the inflator 42. The bag body 12 is inflated and deployed laterally outward in the seat width direction relative to the occupant P by breaking the outer skin of the seat back 18 due to the inflation pressure.

The bag body 12 is configured to include an upper chamber 12A that is inflated and deployed on the seat width outer side of the head H of the occupant P to cover the sides of the head H, and a lower chamber 12B that is inflated and deployed below the head H of the occupant to cover the seat width outer side of the shoulders S to the waist L. The bag body 12 is configured as an integrated bag body in which the upper chamber 12A and the lower chamber 12B are connected. Details of the bag body 12 will be described later.

The inflator 42 is a cylindrical gas generating device formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, with its axial direction aligned with the side frame 54 (see FIG. 3) that constitutes the framework of the seat back 18. A gas ejection section 42A is provided at the lower end of the inflator 42, and gas is generated from the gas ejection section 42A and supplied to the bag body 12 when a side collision of the vehicle is detected or predicted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the inflator 42 is disposed inside the bag body 12 with the gas ejection portion 42A enclosed in a sock 44, which will be described later. In addition, a stud bolt (not shown) extends from the outer surface of the inflator 42 toward the inside in the seat width direction, and the inflator 42 is fastened to the side frame 54 by inserting the stud bolt into the side frame 54 and tightening it with a nut.

(Bag body 12)
As shown in Figures 2 and 3, the bag body 12 is formed into a bag shape by sewing the outer peripheries of two base fabrics 50, 52 arranged in the seat width direction. In Figures 3 and 4, the sewing portion where the outer peripheries of the base fabrics 50, 52 are sewn is indicated by the symbol "S1". The upper part of the bag body 12 is an upper chamber 12A that covers the sides of the head H of the occupant P in the inflated and deployed state. The upper chamber 12A is formed into a substantially rectangular shape when viewed from the seat width direction. In addition, the upper chamber 12A restrains the head H of the occupant P in a state where it is sandwiched between the head H of the occupant P and the shoulder belt 26A in the inflated and deployed state.

The lower part of the bag body 12, when inflated and deployed, forms a lower chamber 12B that covers the sides of the occupant below the head H. When viewed from the seat width direction, the lower chamber 12B is formed in a teardrop shape that bulges downward, and extends vertically along the seat back 18.

(Sock 44)
1 and 2, a sock 44 is provided inside the bag body 12. The sock 44 is also called a duct, an inner tube, a flow straightening cloth, or a diffuser.

The sock 44 is formed in a generally cylindrical shape with gas outlets 46, 48 formed at the top and bottom in the vertical direction of the seat, and extends in the vertical direction along the seat back 18. Specifically, the sock 44 has a sock base portion 44A that extends in the vertical direction of the seat back 18, and a sock expansion portion 44B that is integrally formed at the lower end of the sock base portion 44A.

As shown in Figures 3 and 4, the sock 44 is formed by sewing together two pieces of base fabric 60, 62 arranged in the seat width direction. Specifically, the two pieces of base fabric 60, 62 that make up the sock 44 have their outer peripheries sewn together at stitching section S1. The gas outlets 46, 48 of the sock 44, which will be described later, are openings formed by leaving part of the outer peripheries of the two pieces of base fabric 60, 62 unjoined at stitching section S1. Although not shown, the base fabric 60 on the inner side in the seat width direction that makes up the sock 44 is sewn to the bag body 12 at multiple points.

The sock base portion 44A is formed in a long cylindrical shape extending from the upper chamber 12A to the lower chamber 12B, and its upper end is connected to the upper chamber 12A via the gas outlet 46.

The sock expansion portion 44B is a bag body that protrudes from the lower end of the sock base portion 44A toward the front of the seat and is connected to the sock base portion 44A. When the bag body 12 is inflated and deployed, the sock expansion portion 44B is positioned opposite an area including the center of gravity G of the occupant P's waist L when viewed from the seat width direction. In this embodiment, the waist L of the occupant P refers to the area from the hip bone to the hip joint. The center of gravity G of the waist L is located near the hip joint when the occupant P seated in the vehicle seat 14 is viewed from the seat width direction (see FIG. 1).

In addition, a gas outlet 48 is formed at the upper end of the sock expansion portion 44B on the front side of the sheet. The gas outlet 48 opens toward the upper side of the sheet and connects the lower chamber 12B and the sock expansion portion 44B.

The sock 44 also has a bag-shaped inflator insertion section 44C that is integral with the sock base section 44A. This inflator insertion section 44C is fixed to the side frame 54 together with the inflator 42, with the lower end of the inflator 42 inserted inside. In other words, the gas ejection section 42A of the inflator 42 is contained within the sock 44. As a result, the gas generated from the inflator 42 is distributed through the sock 44 to the upper chamber 12A and the lower chamber 12B.

More specifically, the inflator insert 44C of this embodiment is integrally provided at the lower end and rear end of the sock base 44A, and the gas generated by the inflator 42 is supplied to the vicinity of the boundary between the sock base 44A and the sock expansion 44B through the inflator insert 44C. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 4, the bag-shaped sock expansion 44B is first inflated. Then, gas GA1 is ejected from the gas outlet 48 of the sock expansion 44B toward the upper side of the seat. At the same time, the sock base 44A is inflated and gas GA2 is supplied to the upper chamber 12A from the gas outlet 46 of the sock base 44A. The sock expansion 44B is pressed toward the lower side of the seat by the reaction of gas GA1 ejected upward. Also, gas GA1 ejected from the gas outlet 48 is supplied to the lower chamber 12B. In this way, in the side airbag device 10 of this embodiment, the sock expansion portion 44B completes inflation and deployment at the beginning of a side collision, and then the upper chamber 12A and the lower chamber 12B complete inflation and deployment.

Here, FIG. 5 is a graph comparing the lumbar restraint performance of the occupant P between the side airbag device 10 of this embodiment and a comparative example in which the configuration corresponding to the sock expansion portion 44B is omitted from this embodiment. The vertical axis of the graph is the lumbar restraint force F, and the horizontal axis of the graph is the lumbar movement amount M. As shown in this figure, in the comparative example shown by the dashed line, it can be seen that the lumbar restraint force F of the side airbag device reaches a peak, and then the lumbar movement amount M of the occupant P is completely restrained. In contrast, in the present embodiment shown by the solid line, it can be seen that the lumbar restraint force F of the side airbag device 10 reaches a peak at the beginning of the inertial movement of the lumbar region L of the occupant P, and the lumbar movement amount M until the movement of the lumbar region L of the occupant P completely stops is reduced compared to the comparative example.

That is, in this embodiment, the lumbar region L can be restrained by the inflation pressure of the sock expansion portion 44B before the lower chamber 12B is fully inflated and deployed. Furthermore, the sock expansion portion 44B presses the lower chamber 12B toward the lower side of the seat with the reaction of the ejected gas GA1, stabilizing the deployment behavior of the lower chamber 12B. As a result, in this embodiment, the time until the lumbar restraining force reaches its peak after the side airbag device 10 is activated is shortened, which is thought to contribute to improved lumbar restraint performance.

(Action and Effects)
Next, the operation and effects of this embodiment will be described.

In the vehicle side airbag device 10 according to this embodiment, a bag body 12 is stored inside a vehicle seat 14, and this bag body 12 receives gas from an inflator 42 when a side collision is predicted or detected, and is inflated and deployed to the side of an occupant P. The bag body 12 also has an upper chamber 12A and a lower chamber 12B, with the upper chamber 12A covering the side of the occupant P's head H, and the lower chamber 12B covering the lower side of the occupant P's head H. This makes it possible to protect the occupant P in the event of a side collision.

In addition, a sock 44 extending in the vertical direction of the seat back 18 is disposed inside the bag body 12. This sock 44 distributes the gas supplied from the inflator 42 to the upper chamber 12A and the lower chamber 12B of the bag body 12. Here, a sock expansion portion 44B is integrally provided at the lower end of the sock 44, facing an area including the center of gravity G of the occupant P's hips L when viewed from the seat width direction. As a result, in the event of a side collision, the pressure of the gas inside the sock 44 can quickly restrain the position of the center of gravity of the hips, improving the initial restraint performance of the side airbag device 10 for the hips L.

In addition, the sock expansion portion 44B is formed with a gas outlet 48 that opens toward the upper side of the seat, so that the gas supplied from the inflator 42 is ejected toward the upper side of the seat from the gas outlet 48 of the sock expansion portion 44B and distributed to the lower chamber 12B. As a result, the sock expansion portion 44B is pressed toward the lower side of the seat in reaction to the gas being ejected, effectively suppressing the rocking of the lower chamber 12B. As a result, the deployment behavior of the lower chamber 12B can be stabilized, and the lumbar restraint performance of the side airbag device 10 can be improved.

Second Embodiment
Hereinafter, a vehicle side airbag device 70 according to the second embodiment will be described with reference to Fig. 6. The same components as those in the first embodiment will be denoted by the same reference numerals and will not be described. The second embodiment is characterized in that the base fabric 50 on the inner side in the seat width direction of the lower chamber 12B and the base fabric 52 on the outer side in the seat width direction are joined above the sock expansion portion 44B in the inflated and deployed state. The other configurations are the same as those in the first embodiment.

As shown in FIG. 6, in the inflated and deployed state, the base fabric 50 constituting the side surface on the inner side in the seat width direction of the lower chamber 12B and the base fabric 52 constituting the side surface on the outer side in the seat width direction of the lower chamber 12B are sewn and joined at the center in the front-rear and up-down directions by a sewing section S2. The sewing section S2 is a long hole-shaped sewing line that is long in the up-down direction when viewed from the seat width direction, and is formed on the seat upper side of the sock expansion section 44B. In FIG. 5, the sewing section that sews the outer periphery of the base fabrics 50, 52 of the bag body 12 is indicated by the symbol S3.

In the vehicle side airbag device 70 according to the second embodiment described above, the base fabric of the lower chamber 12B is joined by the stitching portion S2 above the gas outlet 48 of the sock expansion portion 44B. This effectively prevents the base fabric of the lower chamber 12B from swaying due to the gas supplied from the gas outlet 48. This further stabilizes the deployment behavior of the lower chamber 12B, improving the lumbar restraint performance of the vehicle side airbag device 70.

The vehicle side airbag devices 10, 70 according to the above-mentioned embodiments have been described above, but it goes without saying that they can be embodied in various forms without departing from the gist of the present invention. For example, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the sock 44 extends from the upper part of the upper chamber 12A to the lower part of the lower chamber 12B, but is not limited to this. For example, the upper end of the sock 44 may be positioned at the shoulder S of the occupant P.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 Vehicle side airbag device 12 Bag body 12A Upper chamber 12B Lower chamber 14 Vehicle seat 18 Seat back 42 Inflator 44 Sock 44B Sock expansion portion 48 Gas outlet 70 Vehicle side airbag device P Occupant H Head L Waist G Center of gravity of waist

Claims (1)

a bag body that is stored inside the seat back, receives gas from an inflator when a side collision is predicted or detected, and is inflated and deployed at the side of the occupant, and has an upper chamber that covers the side of the occupant's head when inflated and deployed, and a lower chamber that covers the side below the occupant's head;
a sock that contains a gas ejection portion of the inflator, extends in a vertical direction of the seat back inside the bag body, and distributes gas supplied from the inflator to the upper chamber and the lower chamber,
The sock includes a cylindrical sock base portion arranged in a vertical direction,
a sock expansion portion that protrudes from a lower end of the sock base portion toward the front side of the seat and faces an area including the center of gravity of the occupant's hips when viewed from the seat width direction, and has a gas outlet formed on the front side of the seat and opening toward the upper side of the seat ;
an inflator insertion portion that includes the gas ejection portion and is provided at a boundary between the sock base portion and the sock expansion portion;
A side airbag device comprising :