JP3364626B2 - Airbag mounting structure - Google Patents

Description

Description: BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a structure for mounting an airbag to a vehicle such as a passenger car, particularly to a passenger seat. 2. Description of the Related Art In a vehicle airbag device of this type, an airbag bulging opening 2 is formed at a predetermined position of an instrument panel 1 as shown in FIG. A cover (door) 3 is attached to the opening 2. Further, an airbag module (case) configured as a module is supported by the reinforcement of the instrument panel 1 inside the cover 3, and the airbag swells from the airbag swelling opening 2 in the event of a collision, It expands greatly toward the seat. In a conventional airbag module and a cover integrally formed, the airbag module is mounted on a reinforcement of an instrument panel, and the cover is attached to an airbag bulging opening of the instrument panel. Attached to. However, the cover that constitutes a part of the design surface of the instrument panel does not have a gap or the like between the airbag swelling opening, and although it needs to be tightly attached, Since it is integrated with the airbag module, it has been difficult to install it so as to match the design of the instrument panel. Conventionally, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, a cover 3 and an airbag module 4 are separately formed, and both are connected by a strap 5 or a soft resin net. Such an airbag device or its mounting structure is described in, for example, JP-A-3-86653 and JP-A-6-171448. According to this strap type, the cover 3 can be exactly attached to the design surface of the instrument panel 1 by improving the assembling or assembling property, and can be compared with the above-described one with the integrated structure. To improve the appearance. [0005] However, the conventional strap system requires parts such as the strap 5 and bolts for connecting the strap 5 to the cover 3 or the airbag module 4. . For this reason, the number of parts increases, the number of steps for assembling them increases, and the cost must be increased. In addition, the cover 3 and the cluster 6 sometimes fly together when the airbag module swells at the time of collision. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In view of the above, it is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag mounting structure that can improve the mounting property and can substantially reduce the cost. [0007] The airbag mounting structure according to the first aspect of the present invention comprises a cover which is attached to an airbag swelling opening formed in the instrument panel, and a structure which is separated from the cover. An airbag module adapted to be supported by a reinforce inside the cover, wherein a hole is formed in an upper side wall of the cover and the airbag is provided.
A plurality of ribs protruding along the direction of the opening surface of the bulging opening
And the ribs of the instrument panel are formed on the ribs.
The cover is used for airbag bulging
It is possible to move in the left and right direction along the opening surface direction of the opening
The airbag module is attached to the instrument panel, and a bracket formed on the body of the airbag module is loosely fitted into a hole formed on the cover, and the airbag module is coupled to the cover. According to the present invention, one end of the airbag module is loosely fitted and supported in a proper position of the cover. Tighten the match. This supports the inflating airbag module, removes the cover from the instrument panel, and allows the airbag to inflate. Now, at the time of assembling the device of the present invention, the cover and the airbag module are separated from each other. In particular, the cover is movable along the engaging portion with respect to the instrument panel, and the position can be adjusted. . In addition, one end of the airbag module is loosely fitted in an appropriate position of the cover, and therefore, the airbag module can be easily and accurately mounted at an optimum position by adjusting the position of the airbag module at least up, down, left and right with respect to the instrument panel. be able to. A preferred embodiment of an airbag mounting structure according to the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. . FIG. 1 shows a mounting structure of an airbag device according to the present embodiment. An airbag swelling opening 2 is opened at a predetermined position of the instrument panel 1 (see FIG. 5), and a cover 3 is attached to the opening 2. Further, the airbag module 4 is supported by the reinforce 16 inside the cover 3, and in the event of a collision, the airbag (not shown) swells from the airbag swelling opening 2 and largely expands toward the passenger seat. The basic configuration is substantially the same as that of the conventional example. The cover 3 and the airbag module 4 attached to the airbag bulging opening 2 are separated from each other, that is, they are basically separately formed. In particular, the cover 3 is fitted to the instrument panel 1 via the engaging portion 10. The airbag module 4 is provided with a reinforcement 16 of the instrument panel 1.
It is fastened and supported. Further, the cover 3 is connected to one end on the upper side (front of the vehicle) of the airbag module 4 via a loose fitting portion 11 described later. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a plurality of ribs 12 having a substantially concave cross section at the side wall 3a of the cover 3 are provided.
The rib 12 protrudes from the instrument panel 1.
Of the insert 1a is fitted. Thus, the engaging portion 10 is formed along the opening surface direction of the airbag swelling opening 2. Therefore, the cover 3 is positioned via the engagement portion 10 and is movable by a predetermined length in the left-right direction along the opening surface direction of the airbag swelling opening 2. The lower side wall 3b of the cover 3 has a concave groove 13 with which the insert 1b of the instrument panel 1 can be engaged. A plurality of, for example, key-shaped brackets 14 are formed on an upper side (front side of the vehicle) of the airbag module 4 as shown in FIG. The bracket 14 is adapted to loosely fit into a hole 15 (see FIG. 3) formed corresponding to the side wall 3a of the cover 3,
Thereby, the loose fitting portion 11 for connecting the airbag module 4 to the cover 3 is configured. The hole 15 is formed to be appropriately larger than the bracket 14, but the bracket 14 has a hook function or action, and can be engaged with the hole 15 as described later. Here, the cluster 6 is mounted almost flush around the cover 3, but is dimensioned so as not to interfere with the peripheral edge of the cover 3. Thus, the cluster 6 can be prevented from jumping out when the airbag bulges. The cover 3 has a curved shape such that it slightly protrudes from the instrument panel 1 to the indoor side as is apparent from FIG. As a result, when a load or a load is applied to the inner part of the instrument panel 1 from the indoor side, the side part of the cover 3 is slightly deformed so as to expand, thereby acting to deepen the engagement. In the above case, the base (or lower part) of the airbag module 4 is supported by the reinforcement 16 of the instrument panel 1 as shown in FIG. In the airbag mounting structure configured as described above, when the airbag device is mounted, the cover 3 and the airbag module 4 are configured separately.
First, when assembling the cover 3, the inserts 1 a and 1 b of the instrument panel 1 are inserted into the ribs 12 and the concave grooves 13 of the cover 3 and fitted. in this case,
The cover 3 is positioned via the engagement portion 10, and in particular, the opening surface direction (left-right direction) of the airbag swelling opening 2.
And is separated from the airbag module 4 so that it is not restricted by the airbag module 4. Therefore, the position of the cover 3 itself can be easily and accurately adjusted at the time of assembly, and the cover 3 can be tightly attached to the opening 2 without any gap or the like. When the airbag module 4 is assembled, the bracket 14 is inserted into the hole 15 of the cover 3 and supported and fixed by the reinforcement 16 on the instrument panel 1 side. In this case, the loose fitting portion 1
When the bracket 14 is fitted into the hole 15 at 1, the hole 15 is formed to be appropriately larger than the bracket 14 as described above. While the key-shaped part is hole 1
5 can be engaged. As described above, the airbag module 4 is assembled using the cover 3. As a result, the position of the airbag module 4 with respect to the instrument panel 1 can be adjusted in the horizontal direction and the vertical direction. The airbag module 4 is securely supported by the reinforcement 16. Thus, in the attached airbag device, one end of the airbag module 4 is attached to the cover 3.
Is loosely fitted and supported by the loose fitting portion 11, but tightly engages from the loose fitting state with the expansion of the airbag. Then, while supporting the expansion of the airbag, the cover 3 comes off the instrument panel 1 and the airbag can expand. As described above, in the present embodiment, the simple construction in which the ribs 12 are provided at the predetermined positions of the airbag module 4 facilitates the assembling property and achieves a high assembling accuracy. In addition, parts such as bolts that have been required in the past can be eliminated, and in this case, the airbag module 4 can be reliably supported and attached. As described above, according to the present invention, the position of the airbag module can be adjusted vertically and horizontally with respect to the instrument panel having the airbag swelling opening when the airbag module is mounted. As a result, the buildability is significantly improved. In addition, the cover can be exactly adhered to the design surface of the instrument panel, and the appearance can be improved. Furthermore, by simplifying the structure, the number of parts is reduced, the number of assembling steps and costs are reduced, and the cluster can be prevented from being scattered when the airbag bulges during a collision. Has advantages.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of an embodiment of an airbag mounting structure of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged sectional view of an engagement portion in the embodiment of the airbag mounting structure of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a partial perspective view of a cover according to the embodiment of the airbag mounting structure of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a partial perspective view of an airbag module according to an embodiment of the airbag mounting structure of the present invention. FIG. 5 is a perspective view around an instrument panel of a conventional airbag device. FIG. 6 is a longitudinal sectional view of a conventional airbag mounting structure. FIG. 7 is a perspective view around a cover in a conventional airbag mounting structure. [Description of Signs] 1 Instrument panel 2 Airbag swelling opening 3 Cover 4 Airbag module 6 Cluster 10 Engagement part 11 Free fitting part 12 Rib 13 Depressed groove 14 Bracket 15 Hole 16 Reinforce

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B60R 21/16-21/32

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] (1) A cover which is attached to an airbag swelling opening formed in an instrument panel, and which is separated from the cover and supported by a reinforce inside the cover. An airbag module, wherein a hole is formed in an upper side wall of the cover, and the airbag bulges.
A plurality of ribs protruding along the opening surface direction of the
Is formed, and the instrument panel insert is fitted to the rib.
The cover is provided with an opening surface of an airbag bulging opening.
The instrument can move left and right along the direction
The airbag module attached to the cover, the bracket formed on the body of the airbag module is loosely fitted into a hole formed in the cover, and the airbag module is coupled to the cover. Construction.