JP3097489B2 - Seat-mounted side airbag device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a seat mounting type side airbag device mounted on a seat back side of a seat of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more particularly, to a structure of a module case of an airbag module and a mounting structure thereof. It is about.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An example of a seat-attached airbag in which an airbag is attached to a seat of a vehicle such as an automobile is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 4-348712. As shown in FIG. 4, this is an airbag device that protects an occupant in a rear seat. The airbag device is installed in a seat back 60a of a front seat 60 so that the airbag is deployed rearward in the event of a vehicle collision. Has become.

That is, the seat back 60a of the front seat 60 is bent by bending a pipe-made main frame 61a of the seat frame 61 so as to protrude forward so as to define a space behind the pipe. A portion 62 is formed, and an airbag mechanism 63 housed in a case is disposed substantially horizontally in the space of the bent portion 62 with both sides thereof held by the main frame 61a.

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional seat back 60a, the seat frame 61 is not provided.
Since it is assumed that the airbag mechanism 63 is attached from the design stage of the above, it cannot be applied to the existing seat back. In addition, since the airbag mechanism 63 is mounted horizontally across the center of the seat back 60a, there is a problem that the back of the seated occupant hits the airbag mechanism 63, causing a feeling of foreign matter. In addition, because it is an airbag device for the purpose of protecting the rear occupant in the event of a collision,
As it was, it was not possible to provide a side airbag device mounting structure.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an airbag module is attached to a side portion of a seat back having the same structure as a conventional one without projecting to the outside.
It is an object of the present invention to provide a seat-attached side airbag device that can eliminate the feeling of a foreign object when an occupant is seated and that can easily assemble an airbag module.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION As a means for solving the above-mentioned problems, the present invention is directed to a vehicle in which the side of a vehicle body is attached to a side portion of a seat back in which a seat back pad is integrally mounted on a seat frame of a vehicle seat. An airbag module including an open module case, a side airbag housed in the module case, an inflator for inflating the side airbag, and a lid for opening and closing the opening of the module case. In the attached seat-mounted side airbag device, the module case has a front end on the vehicle body inclined such that thicknesses near right and left ends of the seat back pad are constant, and a rear part on the vehicle body is substantially It is bent at a right angle to form an L-shape in plan view, and the opening of the L-shaped module case in plan view is The side airbag is housed in one side of the front side and the inflator is housed in one side of the rear side, and the one side of the front side of the module case is outside the vehicle body side of the seat frame. In addition, one side of the rear side is arranged inside the rear side of the vehicle body of the seat frame, and is attached to the seat back.

Further, in the seat-mounted side airbag device according to the first aspect, the vicinity of both ends of the L-shape of the module case is directly or indirectly connected to the seat frame via a bracket from the rear side of the vehicle body. It can be configured to be mounted as possible.

[0008]

With the above construction, the front end of the L-shaped module case of the airbag module is inclined so that the thickness of the seat back pad is constant, and the side airbag is housed in the front side. The inflator is stored on the rear side, and the front part where the side airbag is stored is further outside the seat frame on the side of the seat back, and the rear side where the inflator is stored is on the rear side of the seat frame. Since the airbag modules are arranged and mounted, the airbag module is housed in a limited narrow space on the side of the seatbag.

In addition, since the vicinity of both ends of the L-shaped module case in plan view is bolted to the seat frame directly or indirectly via a bracket from the rear side of the vehicle body, the airbag module is assembled and replaced. Can be performed from the rear side of the seat back.

[0010]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS One embodiment of the side airbag device of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

This side airbag device protects an occupant sitting on a seat at the time of a side collision.
As shown in FIG. 1, the driver's seat 1 is configured such that a seat back 3 stands upright behind a horizontal seat cushion 2, and an airbag module 30 is mounted at a high position on a side 3a of the seat back 3 on the door side. ing.

The seat back 3 has the same structure as an existing one, and includes a metal seat frame 10, a seat back pad 20 made of a thick elastic body, and a back board 15, as shown in FIG. The seat frame 10 has a plate member 11 in which left and right legs 11a (one not shown) formed in a substantially trapezoidal shape are integrated at a rear connecting portion 11b. The pipe member 12 is bent in a U-shape, and the portion of the pipe member 12 facing each other is connected by a connecting member 13 so as to be able to support the load on the upper body of the seated occupant.

The seat back pad 20 is attached to the front part 21 on which the back S of the seated occupant hits, the left and right side parts 22.
(On the other hand, not shown), the upper and lower portions 23 and 24 and the rear portion 25 are integrated to form a bag-like shape, and a rearward portion is formed with a vertically elongated rectangular opening corresponding to the shape of the seat back 3. The outer surface of the sheet is covered with a sheet skin as necessary. Here, as shown in FIG. 2, most of the front portion 21 and the side portion 22 have substantially the same pad thickness, but the left and right ends of the front portion 21 are provided with thick portions 26 with increased thickness. , Formed in a bucket shape along the curvature of the back S.

Therefore, the plate member 1 of the seat frame 10
1. The front portion 21, the left and right side portions 22, the upper and lower portions 23, 24, and the rear portion 25 of the seat back pad 20 are placed around the pipe member 12 and the connecting member 13 in tension and integrally. A backboard 15 is attached so as to cover the rear of the vehicle, and the seat back 3 is configured in a sealed structure as shown in FIG. A vertically long trapezoidal opening 22 a is formed in the side portion 22 of the seat back pad 20, and an opening 15 a is also formed in a corresponding portion of the back board 15.

In the structure of the seat back 3 described above, the side portion 3a of the seat back pad 20
There is a space according to the pad thickness. Further, inside the pad side portion 22, the plate member 11 of the seat frame 10 comes in contact with the front half region, but the region with the backboard 15 behind it is vacant, so that these spaces are filled with the airbag module 30. It can be used for mounting.

The structure of the airbag module 30 will now be described. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a module case 31 is divided into an airbag chamber 32 and an inflator chamber 33. That is, the airbag chamber 32 is formed in a vertically long trapezoidal box shape having a width narrower than the seatback side portion 3a and substantially the same depth as the thickness of the side portion 22 of the seatback pad 20, and a front portion of the bottom portion. Part thereof can be brought into contact with the plate member 11 of the seat frame 10. The inflator chamber 33 is formed in a vertically long cylindrical shape that can be stored in the seat back 3 at a gap a between the plate member 11 and the back board 15. Then, an inflator chamber 33 is communicated at a right angle behind the airbag chamber 32,
It is bent in an L shape in plan view.

Here, it is better that the airbag chamber 32 has a wide width, but if it enters the thick portion 26 of the seat back pad 20, the comfort of the occupant is impaired. Therefore, the front surface 32a of the airbag chamber 32 is formed so as to be inclined obliquely outward from the vicinity of the inner corner 20a of the seat back pad so as to ensure a constant thickness d of the thick portion 26. Thereby, when the side airbag of the airbag chamber 32 is inflated,
The side airbag is advantageously guided to the occupant by the inclined front surface 32a. The shape of the inclined front surface 32a of the airbag chamber 32 causes the seat back pad 20
The front surface 22b of the opening 22a is also formed with the same inclination.

Then, the side airbag 34 is folded and stored in the airbag chamber 32 and the lid 35 is opened.
Is mounted to open forward. Further, an inflator 36 is housed in the inflator chamber 33 in communication with the side airbag 34, and is thus integrally unitized.

Next, the mounting structure of the airbag module 30 will be described. The front part of the bottom of the airbag chamber 32 of the module case 31 is in contact with the plate member 11 of the seat frame 10. An engagement claw 41 as an engagement means 40 is protrudingly provided in the middle of the bottom end in the length direction, and an engagement hole 42 is provided at a position corresponding to the engagement claw 41 of the plate member 11. The engaging claw 41 is formed to extend straight forward from the bottom, and can be engaged with the engaging claw 41 from behind by engaging the engaging claw 41 with the engaging hole 42, and by this engagement, protruding outside the module case 31. Is to be prevented.

Brackets 4 as fastening means 45 and 50 are provided at the upper part of the bottom of the inflator chamber 33 and at the lower part of the bottom of the airbag chamber 32 which are separated from the inflator chamber 33, respectively.
6, 51 are protruded. Brackets 47 with nuts 49 are provided at positions corresponding to the brackets 46 and 51 of the seat frame 10 when the module case 31 is vertically arranged along the side 3a of the seat back 3.
52 are provided, and these two brackets 46 and 47 are provided.
And the brackets 51 and 52 together, and bolts 48 and 5
3 for fastening.

The case where the airbag module 30 is mounted on the seat back 3 will now be described.
The seat back pad 20 is integrally put around the seat frame 10. Then, the plate member 1 of the seat frame 10 is inserted into the opening 22 a of the side portion 22 of the seat back pad 20.
1 and the engaging hole 42 is exposed together with a part of the seat frame 1.
The back of 0 is also exposed. Therefore, the seat back pad 20
When the module case 31 is inserted from the rear into the opening 22a, the engaging claw 41 is hooked into the engaging hole 42, so that the module case 31 is easily engaged. Fixed. Then, the rear part of the module case 31 is fixed to the seat frame 10 by aligning the two fastening means 45 and 50 and bolting from behind.

In this way, the module case 31 is easily attached to the seat frame 10 by the work from behind, and in this case, the front engaging means 40 in the longitudinal direction is used.
Then, the module case 31 is firmly attached by the two upper and lower fastening means 45 and 50 at the rear. For this reason, the seat frame 10 can reliably receive the reaction force when the side airbag 34 is deployed.

Thereafter, a harness or the like is connected to the airbag module 30 and the backboard 15 is attached to the rear of the seatback pad 20, and the assembly of the seatback 3 is completed.

In the assembled state of the seat back 3, as shown in FIG.
2 uses the pad thickness of the side portion 22 of the seat back pad 20 to form the opening 22 of the seat back pad 20.
Outside the plate member 11a, only the thin lid 35 is put out of the pad, and the inclined front surface 32a is embedded so as to match the same front surface 22b of the opening 22a. Further, an inflator chamber 33 behind the airbag chamber 32 is installed in the gap a between the plate member 11 of the seat frame 10 and the backboard 15. In this way, the module case 31 is securely housed in the side portion 3a of the existing seat back 3 using a limited space.

Next, the operation of this embodiment constructed as described above will be described. The airbag module 30 is built in the side portion 3a of the seat back 3 with only the thin lid 35 extending outside. So it looks better. Further, since the airbag module 30 does not interfere with the seat belt or the center pillar of the vehicle body at all, the operation failure of the seat belt or the seat adjust does not occur.

Therefore, the seat back 3 has no projections inside, and the thick portions 26 at the left and right ends of the front portion 21 of the seat back pad 20 have the inclined front surface 3 of the airbag chamber 32.
2a secures a constant thickness d. For this reason,
When the back S of the occupant seated on the seat 1 is pressed against the seat back 3, a sufficient cushion stroke is obtained by the thick portion 26 together with the front portion 21. As well as comfortable sitting,
Even when the occupant is strongly pressed against the seat back 3 as in the case of a rear-end collision, the occupant does not hit the bottom and can be sufficiently buffered.

In the event of a side collision, the inflator 36
The gas generating agent is ignited to generate a large amount of gas, and this gas is introduced into the side airbag 34 of the airbag chamber 32. As a result, the side airbag 34 is inflated and the lid 35 is pushed out while being opened by the pressure, and as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1, the side airbag 34 is deployed in the space between the door and the seated occupant. I do. For this reason, the impact when the occupant makes a secondary collision with the door is absorbed and reduced by the side airbag 34.

Further, in this embodiment, an engagement means 40 is provided which is capable of engaging the module case 31 of the airbag module 30 with the seat frame 10 from the rear in the middle in the longitudinal direction on the airbag chamber side. Since the fastening means 45 and 50 for fastening to the seat frame 10 are provided at two upper and lower positions on the inflator chamber side and the airbag chamber side, the module case 31 is entirely operated from behind.
Are easily and firmly attached to the seat frame 10.

In this embodiment, the side airbag device for the driver's seat has been described. However, the present invention can be similarly applied to the side airbag device for the front passenger seat and the rear seat.

[0030]

As described above, in the side airbag device of the present invention, the front end of the L-shaped module case of the airbag module is formed so as to be inclined so that the thickness of the seat back pad becomes constant. In addition to eliminating the feeling of foreign matter when the occupant is seated, the module case is formed in an L-shape, and the part storing the side airbag is located outside the seat frame on the side of the seat back, and the part storing the inflator is described above. Since each of the side airbag devices is disposed and mounted on the rear side of the seat frame, the side airbag device can be stored in a limited space on the side of the seatback. Further, since the seat belt does not protrude from the seat back, the seat belt is not caught or hindered from adjusting the position of the seat, and the appearance is improved. Also, in plan view L
Since the vicinity of both ends of the letter-shaped module case is attached to the seat frame by bolting from the rear side of the vehicle body, there is an effect that the work of attaching and replacing the airbag module becomes easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a passenger seat equipped with a side airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view taken along line II-II of FIG.

FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of a seat back and an airbag module.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a seat provided with a conventional seat-mounted airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 3 seat back 3a side 10 seat frame 15 backboard 20 seat back pad 22 side 22a opening 26 thick part 30 airbag module 31 module case 32 airbag chamber 32a front face 33 inflator chamber 34 side airbag 35 lid 36 inflator

────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-4-356246 (JP, A) JP-A-7-215159 (JP, A) JP-A 8-142790 (JP, A) (58) Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/16-21/32

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. A module case having an opening on a vehicle body side on a side portion of a seat back in which a seat back pad is integrally covered with a seat frame of a vehicle seat, and a side airbag housed in the module case. A seat-mounted side airbag device equipped with an airbag module including an inflator for inflating the side airbag and a lid for opening and closing the opening of the module case; The front end is inclined so that the thickness near the left and right ends of the seat back pad is constant, and the rear part of the vehicle body is bent substantially at right angles to form an L-shape in plan view. The side airbag is provided in one side of the front side where the opening of the module case is formed. The inflator is accommodated in one side of the module case, and the one side of the front side of the module case is disposed outside the vehicle body side of the seat frame, and the one side of the rear side is disposed inside the vehicle body rear side of the seat frame. A seat-attached side airbag device which is attached to a seatback. 2. The module case according to claim 1, wherein the L-shaped ends of the module case are detachably attached to the seat frame directly or indirectly via brackets from the rear side of the vehicle body. The seat-mounted side airbag device as described in the above.