JP4289066B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag device in which a plurality of inflators are incorporated, and the influence of each inflator on other inflators or the influence imposed by other inflators can be reduced.

  BACKGROUND ART An airbag device that protects an occupant from an impact when a vehicle collides includes an inflator that injects gas and a bag-like airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas.

  Moreover, since the airbag device installed at the center of the steering wheel or the like has a relatively small airbag capacity, an airbag module having one inflator is usually used. Since the capacity of the airbag is larger than that on the driver's seat side, the apparatus requires an inflator having a large gas generation amount when attempting to inflate and deploy the airbag with one inflator.

  However, such a large-capacity inflator has a large amount of medicine and a large size, and has a dedicated design and is generally expensive.

  By the way, the relatively small-capacity inflator used in the driver's side airbag module is inexpensive due to the mass production effect, so the price of two inflators is the price of one specially designed inflator on the passenger side. Often cheaper.

Under such circumstances, an airbag apparatus using two disk-type inflators designed for a driver's seat airbag apparatus has been proposed (for example, Patent Document 1).
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 62-198547.

  In the conventional airbag device, two disk-type inflators each having a gas ejection port are mounted on the same plane of a generator case, and a substrate provided at a gas inlet of a folded airbag is provided. It is mounted on the generator case and has a structure in which the upper part of the airbag is covered with a cover.

  As described above, the airbag device including a plurality of inflators is inexpensive as described above, and since there are many inflator specification options, by combining a plurality of inflators, a desired rise characteristic, that is, There is an advantage that the tuning of the airbag module is easy, such as obtaining time / gas pressure characteristics after startup.

  In addition, since the plurality of inflators are activated in stages with a time difference, the airbag deployment characteristic mode can be arbitrarily set with the inflator of the same specification, so that there is an advantage that different deployment modes can be selected and executed.

  While an airbag device having a plurality of inflators has the above-mentioned advantages, there are also problems to be improved.

  That is, when a plurality of inflators are activated at the same time in the event of a vehicle collision, or when activated with a time difference, the gas outlets of each inflator are opposed to each other as in the airbag device described in Patent Document 1. In the installed one, the gas injected from the gas outlet of one inflator and the gas injected from the other directly collide with each other, or the gas injected by the inflator that was started earlier blows to the injection port of the inflator that starts after a delay. You will win.

  In this way, when the gas directly collides, it becomes a pressure loss due to the relationship that prevents the hands from going to each other, so it has a rising characteristic different from that when starting alone, and for this reason, a different rising characteristic is obtained. It may be necessary to replace the inflator with the expected tuning and make up for the loss.

  In addition, the high pressure gas ejected from the first inflator blows to the gas outlet of the later inflator, and the inside of the outlet is affected by heat. There are problems such as becoming characteristics.

  In particular, depending on the inflator, the gas to be ejected may become high temperature, and since the combustion products are contained, the inflators may be affected by each other, resulting in different operating characteristics. May be.

  The present invention has been made to improve such a conventional problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide an airbag device in which a plurality of inflators are incorporated and the mutual influence of each inflator is reduced.

The present invention is inflated and deployed by a plurality of disc-type inflators having a disk shape having a flat cylindrical shape having outer peripheral surfaces each having a gas ejection port, and gas ejected from the inflator The same in a retainer that includes an airbag and an open box-like airbag case that accommodates the airbag in a state of being folded together with the inflator. First, each inflator is installed on the bottom surface of the airbag case. It is mounted on a plane and arranged so that the gas ejection directions of the gas ejection ports of each inflator are not opposed to each other. Second, the bottom plates constituting the airbag case are Form each step with a step, and attach each inflator to the high part and the low part. Therefore, the gas ejection direction of the gas ports of the respective inflators, in which are arranged at positions which are not opposed to each other.

  With such a configuration, it is possible to operate each inflator with predetermined characteristics while reducing the influence between a plurality of inflators.

  Also, by using a plurality of small capacity inflators, the airbag apparatus can be provided at a lower cost than when using a relatively expensive inflator.

  In the airbag device of the present invention, by arranging each inflator so that the gas ejection ports of a plurality of inflators do not face each other, the gas ejected from the gas ejection ports does not directly blow each other, or other Therefore, the characteristic change due to the influence from each inflator can be suppressed, and the unique characteristics and performance of each inflator can be utilized.

  Further, by using a plurality of small-capacity inflators, the cost of the inflator is reduced as compared with the case of using one large-capacity inflator, so that the airbag device can be provided at low cost.

  Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

  1 is an exploded perspective view of the airbag device, FIG. 2 is a sectional view in an assembled state, and FIG. 3 is an arrow view from the direction A in FIG.

  An airbag module 1 constituting an airbag device is installed in, for example, an instrument panel (not shown) provided in a front portion of a passenger compartment, and is an airbag called a reaction can formed by a metal plate. Case 2 is provided.

  The airbag case 2 has an open top surface and a rectangular parallelepiped shape that is long in the vehicle width direction. A plurality of through holes 2b are punched and formed on both side plates 2a on the long side. A flange portion 2c is formed by bending the upper end of each side plate 2a outward at a substantially right angle.

  A plurality of mounting holes 2d are formed in the flange portion 2c, and an upper portion of the airbag module 1 is provided on the back side of the instrument panel by a fixing tool (not shown) inserted into the mounting holes 2d. It is attached to a cover (not shown), and the lower part of the airbag module 1 is attached to a part of the vehicle body, for example, a steering frame (not shown) by a bracket 3 fixed to the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2. .

  A plurality of, for example, two inflator mounting holes 2f are formed in the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2 so as to be spaced apart in the vehicle width direction.

  These inflator attachment holes 2f are formed, for example, in a circular shape for attaching the disc-type inflator 4, and the gas ejection portions 4a of the inflator 4 are inserted into the inflator attachment holes 2f from below the airbag case 2. .

  The disk-type inflator 4 has a cylindrical shape with a flat outer shape, and has a mounting flange 4b protruding substantially at the middle part of the outer periphery.

  Mounting holes 4c are drilled at the corners of the mounting flange 4b. The mounting holes 4c and the mounting holes 2g drilled in the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2 project from a retainer 9 described later. The two inflators 4 are attached to the bottom surface of the airbag case 2 by inserting the plurality of the fixing tools 10 from above and tightening the nuts 10 a screwed into the fixing tools 10.

  The gas ejection part 4a above the attachment flange 4b of each inflator 4 protrudes into the airbag case 2 from the inflator attachment hole 2f of the airbag case 2, and a plurality of gas ejection parts 4a are provided on the outer peripheral surface of the gas ejection part 4a. A gas outlet 4g is formed in the lateral direction.

  These gas outlets 4g have a phase in the direction of jetting of, for example, about 15 degrees as shown in FIG. 3 in order to prevent the high-pressure gases jetted from the adjacent inflators 4 from interfering with each other at a time difference Each inflator 4 is attached to the airbag case 2 so as to be displaced, and a wire harness 7 that activates the inflator 4 is connected to the bottom surface of each inflator 4.

  On the other hand, the airbag 8 is formed into a bag shape by sewing a plurality of nylon base fabrics and the like, and has a gas blowing port 8a on the lower surface side, and the gas blowing port 8a is formed of a metal plate. A retainer 9 is attached in an airtight manner.

  The retainer 9 is formed in a rectangular shape that is slightly smaller than the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2, and is a circular hole that is substantially the same size as the inflator mounting hole 2f at a position that matches the inflator mounting hole 2f formed in the bottom plate 2e. 9a is perforated, and around these circular holes 9a, a fixing tool 10 for fixing the retainer 9 to the upper surface of the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2 and the mounting flange 4b of the inflator 4 to the lower surface of the bottom plate 2e Projected with the part facing down.

  The airbag 8 is accommodated in the airbag case 2 in a state in which the airbag 8 is folded into a size that fits into the airbag case 2 and is bound by a bundle band 8b so as not to lose its shape.

  Next, the operation of the thus configured airbag device will be described.

  The two inflators 4 constituting the airbag module 1 have the same specifications. However, one of the inflators 4 has a characteristic that suddenly rises and the other has a characteristic that gently rises. The inflator 4 may have a characteristic of ejecting a relatively high temperature gas and the other of the inflator 4 may have a characteristic of ejecting a relatively low temperature gas, and the combination is arbitrary.

  Each inflator 4 is activated by an electrical signal sent from the inflator driving means (not shown) via the wire harness 7. However, even if the activation timing is simultaneous, the inflator 4 is selectively activated based on a preset condition or a time difference is set. You can start it up.

  The airbag module 1 mounted inside the instrument panel at the front of the passenger compartment has a module cover in which the upper part of the airbag case 2 is fixed to the back surface of the instrument panel, and the bottom of the airbag case 2 is a bracket 3. The inflator drive means senses an impact when the vehicle collides, but two inflators 4 attached to the bottom of the airbag case 2 are attached. When activated, high-pressure gas is ejected into the airbag 8 from a plurality of gas ejection ports 4g formed in the outer peripheral surface of the gas ejection portion 4a.

  Since the gas jets 4g of the inflators 4 are preliminarily out of phase as shown in FIG. 3, the gas jetted from the gas jets 4g of the inflators 4 does not interfere with each other. Loss occurs and adjacent inflators 4 are jetted into the airbag 8 without affecting each other.

  The airbag 8 accommodated in a folded state in the airbag case 2 is inflated when high-pressure gas is blown, and the bundle band 8b that binds the airbag 8, the module cover, and the instrument panel tier. The line is broken and further expanded to the front of the occupant while continuing to expand.

  As described above, even if a plurality of, for example, two inflators 4 attached to the airbag case 2 are activated simultaneously or with a time difference, the high-pressure gases ejected from the gas ejection port 4g interfere with each other, Since they do not influence each other, the airbag 8 can be deployed in a predetermined shape at a predetermined position instantly at the time of a vehicle collision.

  In the above-described embodiment, the phases of the gas outlets 4g of the two inflators 4 attached on the same plane of the retainer 9 are shifted so that the high-pressure gases ejected from the gas outlets 4g do not interfere with each other. However, the inflator 4 may be arranged as in the modifications shown in FIGS. 4 to 9 so that the high-pressure gases ejected from the gas ejection ports 4g of the inflators 4 do not interfere with each other.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 4, the step 2h is formed on the bottom plate 2e of the airbag case 2, and the inflator 4 is attached to the bottom plate 2e having a high height and the bottom plate 2e having a low height. A height difference is provided in the jet outlet 4g.

  According to this modification, even if the phase of the gas outlet 4g of each inflator 4 is the same, the high-pressure gas ejected from the gas outlet 4g does not interfere with each other, so the same effect as in the above embodiment is obtained. It is done.

  In the modification shown in FIG. 5, the bottom plate 2 e of the airbag case 2 is inclined in a substantially mountain shape, thereby changing the attachment angle of the two inflators 4 attached to the bottom plate 2 e, and the high pressure ejected from the gas ejection port 4 g. By tilting the gas ejection direction, the high-pressure gases are prevented from interfering with each other.

  In any of the modifications, the high-pressure gases ejected from the gas ejection ports 4g of the inflators 4 do not interfere with each other, so that the same effect as in the above embodiment can be obtained.

  A plurality of inflators according to the present invention are incorporated, and an airbag device capable of reducing the influence of each inflator on other inflators or the influence imposed by other inflators is such that the gas outlets of the plurality of inflators face each other. By disposing each inflator so as not to mate, the gas ejected from the gas ejection port does not directly blow each other or directly into the gas ejection port of another inflator. Because it is possible to take advantage of the unique characteristics and performance of each inflator by suppressing changes in characteristics due to the effects of the air, an air with a relatively large airbag installed not only in the instrument panel but also in the seat seat, etc. It can also be applied to bag devices.

1 is an exploded perspective view of a vehicle airbag device according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing of the airbag apparatus for vehicles which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is an arrow view from the A direction of FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the vehicle airbag apparatus which becomes embodiment of this invention. It is sectional drawing which shows the modification of the vehicle airbag apparatus which becomes embodiment of this invention .

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Airbag module 2 Airbag case 4 Inflator 4g Gas outlet 8 Airbag 12 Deflection ring

Claims (2)

A plurality of disk-type inflators having a disk shape having an outer peripheral surface in which gas gas outlets are formed and having a flat outer shape; and an airbag inflated and deployed by gas ejected from the inflator; An airbag device comprising an open box-like airbag case that accommodates the airbag folded together with the inflator, the same plane of a retainer in which each of the inflators is installed on the bottom surface of the airbag case The airbag apparatus is characterized by being mounted on the top and arranged so that the gas ejection directions of the gas ejection ports of each inflator do not face each other. A plurality of disk-type inflators having a disk shape having an outer peripheral surface in which gas gas outlets are formed and having a flat outer shape; and an airbag inflated and deployed by gas ejected from the inflator; An airbag device comprising an open box-like airbag case that accommodates the airbag folded together with the inflator, wherein bottom plates constituting the airbag case are formed so as to have a level difference between each other. By attaching the inflators to the high part and the low part, respectively, the gas ejection directions of the gas ejection ports of the inflators are arranged at positions where they do not face each other. A featured airbag device.

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