JP4807428B2 - Airbag device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus that protects an occupant by inflating an airbag when an impact is applied to a vehicle.

  2. Description of the Related Art As a device for protecting an occupant from an impact when the vehicle is subjected to an impact, an airbag device including a gas generator (inflator) and an airbag is widely known. Of these airbag devices, for example, when a side impact is applied to the vehicle due to a side collision or the like, the side airbag device that protects an occupant from the impact is laterally applied to the body side portion of the vehicle. When an impact is applied, the gas generator jets the inflation gas into the airbag. The side where the airbag is inflated and deployed forward from the seat back to the occupant through the body side part in a narrow space between the occupant seated on the vehicle seat and the body side part due to the inflated gas Relieve shock from.

  Here, it is generally known that the waist is superior to the shoulder and chest in terms of impact resistance of the human body side. For this reason, in the case of a side airbag device that protects the occupant over a wide area extending from the shoulder to the waist, it is desirable that the impact acting on the occupant due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag is smaller in the shoulder and chest than in the waist.

  From this viewpoint, for example, in the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the inside of the airbag is divided into an upper inflatable portion corresponding to the shoulder and chest of the occupant and a lower inflatable portion corresponding to the waist. . The upper and lower inflatable portions are connected to each other by a communication path, and a cylindrical gas distributor is disposed in the communication path so as to enclose the gas generator. The gas distributor includes an upper outlet that allows the expansion gas from the gas generator to flow out to the upper expansion portion, and a lower outlet that allows the expansion gas to flow out from the opening larger than the upper outlet to the lower expansion portion. Is provided. In the side airbag device having such a configuration, the expansion gas from the gas generator is distributed by the gas distributor more to the lower expansion part than to the upper expansion part. Expands quickly and with high internal pressure. The pressure distribution in the airbag becomes appropriate such that the lower inflating portion is relatively hard and the upper inflating portion is relatively soft, and the occupant is effectively protected from impact.

  Furthermore, in the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the gas distributor is formed of a fabric. Further, the lower part of the gas distributor extends downward from the lower end of the gas generator, and constitutes a check valve. Then, if the occupant's body hits the lower part of the inflated airbag and the internal pressure of the lower inflating part rises and the inflation gas tries to flow out to the upper inflating part via the gas distributor, The check valve is closed by overlapping the lower part so as to regulate the outflow of the expansion gas.

Japanese Patent No. 4103633

  However, in the above-described side airbag device that simply extends the lower part of the cylindrical gas distributor downward and constitutes the check valve, when the check valve is closed, the opposite parts of the lower part of the gas distributor are arranged. They are only superposed on each other by the pressure of the expansion gas. With this configuration, it is difficult to close the flow path of the expansion gas by closely contacting the opposing portions of the lower part of the gas distributor without any gaps. If the lower part of the gas distributor is open even a little, the inflation gas will flow through it. Further, when the internal pressure of the lower expansion portion becomes excessively high, an excessive pressure due to the expansion gas is applied to the lower portion of the gas distributor, and the same portion may enter the gas distributor and reverse. In this case, it is difficult to maintain the valve closed state, and conversely, there is a concern that the expansion gas flows through the gas distributor to the upper expansion portion. Thus, in the side airbag device described in Patent Document 1, the operation of the check valve is not stable, and there is room for improvement in this respect.

  This invention is made | formed in view of such a situation, Comprising: The objective is to provide the check valve which operate | moves reliably by simple structure.

  In order to achieve the above object, the invention according to claim 1 has a plurality of inflating portions that are inflated by an inflating gas, and a space between two adjacent inflating portions is provided between a pair of communication wall portions. An air bag that is communicated with each other through the communication path, and a pair of valve body portions that are provided in the communication path, and that restricts the inflow of the inflation gas from one of the two expansion parts to the other. An airbag device including the one inflating portion as a gas inflow inflating portion and the other inflating portion as a gas outflow inflating portion, each of the valve body portions on the gas outflow inflating portion side. The end portion is coupled to the corresponding communication wall portion by an outflow side coupling portion that extends in a direction intersecting the gas flow direction of the expansion gas in the communication passage, and the outflow side of each of the both valve body portions is In the vicinity of the gas inflow / expansion part side with respect to the joint part, A flexible portion that can be bent toward the outflow expansion portion side is provided, and for each of the valve body portions, one side portion in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portion corresponds to at least the communication wall portion corresponding to the same side portion. A one-side edge coupling portion that couples to the one-side edge coupling portion, or a wall portion coupling portion that couples at least the two communication wall portions to each other on or near the one-side edge coupling portion. The other end portion of the outflow side connecting portion in the extending direction is provided with another side edge connecting portion that extends along the gas flow direction and connects the valve body portions to each other. Between the coupling portion and the other side edge coupling portion, in the vicinity of the other side edge coupling portion, the valve body portions are coupled to each other, and the flexible portion is near the gas inflow expansion portion side. A supplementary coupling part extending from the location to the gas inflow / expansion part side is provided, and the auxiliary On or near the coupling section, and summarized in that the extending along the gas flow direction, and the flame flexures hardly bent than the flexible portion.

  According to the above configuration, when the expansion gas is supplied and the expansion gas flows between both valve body portions of the check valve, a force to form a cylindrical shape is generated in both valve body portions. However, in the check valve, the inner diameter (circumferential length) differs between the flexible portion and the portion closer to the gas inflow / expansion portion. The latter has a smaller inner diameter (peripheral length) by the amount of the auxiliary coupling portion. Therefore, the portion of the both valve body portions closer to the gas inflow and expansion portion than the flexible portion tends to expand in a cylindrical shape with an inner diameter smaller than that of the flexible portion.

  However, for both valve body parts, one side in the extending direction of both outflow side coupling parts is coupled to the corresponding communication wall part by one side edge coupling part, while the other side part is auxiliary They are merely connected to each other by the connecting portion, and are not connected to the communication wall portion. The one side portion of both valve body portions cannot move with respect to both communication wall portions, whereas the other side portion can move with respect to both communication wall portions. Moreover, although a hard part is hard to bend, a flexible part is easy to bend.

  Therefore, when both the valve body portions are to expand in a cylindrical shape with different inner diameters (peripheral lengths) as described above, the flexible portion is drawn toward the gas outflow expansion portion side and bends. Along with this, the part of the gas inflow and expansion part rather than the flexible part in both valve body parts is connected to both the outflow side coupling part side and the wall part with the vicinity of the end part on the both outflow side coupling part side of the rigid part as a fulcrum. It is drawn to the club side. By this drawing, the inflexible portion is in an inclined state such that it is positioned closer to the wall portion coupling portion as the gas inflow expansion portion side. Further, in both valve body parts, the hard part is difficult to bend in the part closer to the gas inflow and expansion part than the flexible part, while other parts are easy to bend. Is easier to enter.

Then, the expansion gas that has passed through the check valve that has expanded in a cylindrical shape as described above flows into the gas inflow / expansion section and expands the gas inflow / expansion section.
Subsequently, when the supply of the expansion gas is stopped, the expansion gas in the gas inflow / expansion section having a high internal pressure tends to flow to the gas outflow expansion section side having a low internal pressure through the check valve. Operates as follows. Inside the gas inflow / expansion part, the flexible part that is drawn and bent toward the gas outflow / expansion part due to the difference in inner diameter (peripheral length) tends to flow toward the gas outflow / expansion part at the same time as the supply of the expansion gas stops The high pressure of the expansion gas is received at once and is pressed to the gas outflow expansion portion side. By this pressing, the flexible portion is pushed, and accordingly, the portion of the both valve body portions closer to the gas inflow / expansion portion than the flexible portion is further drawn toward both the outflow side coupling portion side and the wall portion coupling portion side.

  At this time, the inflexible portion is also attracted and approaches both outflow side coupling portions. The difficult-to-flexible part falls to both the outflow side coupling part side and the wall part coupling part side while maintaining its own shape with the vicinity of the ends on the both outflow side coupling part sides as fulcrums. At this time, among the portions of the both valve body portions closer to the gas inflow / expansion portion than the flexible portion, the portion other than the inflexible portion is also gas inflow / expansion toward the gas outflow / expansion portion side, similar to the flexible portion. It receives the high pressure of the expansion gas in the section. The part that has received this pressure is bent so as to be pushed between both valve body parts. Along with this, the flow path of the expansion gas between both valve body portions becomes smaller. As a result, the expansion gas in the gas inflow / expansion part is restricted from flowing (backflowing) to the gas outflow / expansion part through the valve body parts.

  As described above, the check valve operates reliably while having a simple configuration, and reliably restricts the backflow of the expansion gas. Further, since the check valve is opened or closed by the pressure of the expansion gas, it is not necessary to separately provide a means for driving the check valve.

  The invention according to claim 2 is the invention according to claim 1, wherein the length of the hardened portion is a portion where the distance between the hardened portion in the wall joint portion is the smallest, The gist of the present invention is that it is set longer than the interval between the rigid portion side end portions of both outflow side coupling portions.

  By setting the length of the hard part to be longer than the above-mentioned interval, the hard part is brought into contact with the wall part coupling part in the middle of falling down as described above. This wall part coupling | bond part restricts that a hard-flexing part falls further to both the outflow side coupling | bond part side and wall part coupling | bond part side. In this state, the check valve is substantially closed, and the expansion gas in the gas inflow / expansion part flows between the valve body parts to the gas outflow / expansion part side (backflows). Are reliably regulated.

Therefore, the internal pressure of the gas inflow / expansion part, which has been increased to an appropriate internal pressure for protecting the occupant, is not reduced by the backflow of the expansion gas to the gas outflow / expansion part.
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the gas supply source that supplies the inflation gas into the airbag has an end portion on the gas inflow / expansion portion side of the gas supply source. The gist is that it is arranged so as to be positioned in the vicinity of the two outflow side coupling portions in the outflow expansion portion.

  When the internal pressure of the gas inflow / expansion part becomes higher than the inflexible part over the wall joint part, the part on the gas inflow / expansion part side of the flexible part of both valve body parts is the inflexible part. Follow the above, get over the wall joint and try to flip it over. When this phenomenon occurs, the flow path of the expansion gas between the valve bodies is opened, and the expansion gas in the gas inflow / expansion section with a high internal pressure passes through the check valve, and the gas outflow / expansion with a low internal pressure. There is a risk of backflow. However, in the invention according to claim 3, the gas supply source in which the end portion on the gas inflow expansion portion side of the gas supply source is located in the vicinity of both outflow side coupling portions in the gas outflow expansion portion is provided with the inflexible portion and the both valves. The body part is restricted from moving more than necessary from the position when the valve is closed to the gas outflow expansion part side. As a result, it is difficult for the hard-to-bend portion and both valve body portions to get over the wall joint portion or to turn over (invert).

The invention according to claim 4 is the gist of the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the hardened portion is formed by stitching the valve body portions with sewing threads. And
According to said structure, although it is a simple structure of stitching both valve body parts with a thread, the hard-to-flex part which is harder to bend than a flexible part is formed easily. Further, it is possible to easily adjust the difficulty of bending the hard-to-be-hardened portion by changing the type of sewing thread or changing the number of sewing threads.

  As an airbag in the invention according to any one of claims 1 to 4, for example, as in the invention according to claim 5, an inflating gas supplied in response to a side impact on the vehicle Thus, it is possible to use one that inflates and deploys toward the front of the vehicle between the body side portion of the vehicle and an occupant seated on the vehicle seat.

  The invention according to claim 6 is the invention according to claim 5, wherein the gas inflow / expansion part is a lower inflating part that inflates and expands in the vicinity of a side of the waist of the occupant, and the gas outflow inflating part is The gist of the invention is an upper inflatable portion provided on the upper side of the lower inflatable portion and inflating and deploying in the vicinity of the side of the chest of the passenger.

  According to the above configuration, the check valve allows the expansion gas to flow from the upper expansion portion to the lower expansion portion, but allows the expansion gas in the lower expansion portion to flow (backflow) to the upper expansion portion. regulate. Therefore, for example, even if the internal pressure of the lower inflating portion rises due to the airbag device restraining the occupant's waist, the check valve restricts the inflation gas in the lower inflating portion from flowing to the upper inflating portion. . The internal pressure of the upper inflating portion does not increase due to the influence of pressure fluctuations in the lower inflating portion accompanying the occupant's waist restraint.

  Therefore, it is possible to more securely protect the chest part having low impact resistance from the impact by the upper inflating part while reliably restraining the waist part having high impact resistance by the lower inflating part.

  According to the airbag apparatus of the present invention, a check valve that operates reliably can be provided with a simple configuration.

The side view which shows the vehicle seat equipped with the side airbag apparatus with the passenger | crew in one Embodiment which actualized this invention. FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional plan view showing a positional relationship between a vehicle seat, an occupant, and a body side part. FIG. 3 is a front sectional view showing a positional relationship between a vehicle seat, an occupant, and a body side part. The side view which shows the airbag module by which the airbag was made into the flat deployment state with a passenger | crew. FIG. 5 is a side view showing an inflator assembly disposed in the airbag of FIG. 4. The top view which shows the state which looked at the inflator assembly of FIG. 5 from diagonally backward upper direction with a seat frame, a nut, an airbag, etc. FIG. Sectional drawing which shows the internal structure of an airbag module when a seat back stands substantially vertically. It is a figure which shows the stage in the middle of manufacturing an airbag module, and is an expanded view which shows the state which expand | deployed the airbag, the reinforcement cloth, and the check valve in planar shape. Sectional drawing which expands and shows the X section in FIG. The fragmentary sectional view which shows the state of the non-return valve in the expansion | swelling initial stage of an airbag. FIG. 10 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure along the line QQ in FIG. 9. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the state of the non-return valve before the gas for expansion | swelling from an inflator is supplied. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the state of a non-return valve when the gas for expansion is supplied from the inflator. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the state of a non-return valve immediately after supply of the gas for expansion | swelling from an inflator was stopped. Explanatory drawing which shows typically the state by which the non-return valve of FIG. 14 is closed. FIG. 16 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating a state in which the check valve of FIG. 15 is completely closed and the backflow of the expansion gas from the lower expansion portion to the upper expansion portion is restricted. It is a figure corresponding to Drawing 9, and is a fragmentary sectional view showing another example of a non-return valve which provided a wall part joint part in a place different from one side edge joint part. FIG. 18 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure along the line RR in FIG. 17. It is a figure corresponding to Drawing 9, and is a fragmentary sectional view showing another example of a non-return valve which provided a hard part at a place different from an auxiliary joint part. FIG. 20 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure along the line SS in FIG. 19. The fragmentary sectional view which shows another example of the non-return valve provided in the state which inclined the hard-flexible part. The fragmentary sectional view which shows another example which provided the check valve in the tether. FIG. 23 is a partial cross-sectional view showing a cross-sectional structure along the line TT in FIG. 22.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment in which the present invention is embodied in a side airbag device will be described with reference to FIGS. In the following description, the traveling direction (forward direction) of the vehicle will be described as the front.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 to 3, a vehicle seat 12 is disposed in the vicinity of the vehicle side of the body side portion 11 in the vehicle. Here, the body side part 11 refers to the member arrange | positioned at the side part of a vehicle. For example, the body side part 11 corresponding to the front seat is a front door, a center pillar (B pillar), or the like. The body side portion 11 corresponding to the rear seat is a rear portion of a side door (rear door), a rear pillar (C pillar), a front portion of a tire house, a rear quarter, and the like.

  The vehicle seat 12 includes a seat cushion (seat portion) 13 and a seat back (back portion) 14 that stands up from the rear side of the seat cushion 13 and has an inclination adjustment mechanism (not shown). Yes. A storage portion 15 is provided on the side of the seatback 14 on the vehicle exterior side, and an airbag module AM that is a main part of the side airbag device is stored in the storage portion 15. The position of the storage unit 15 is in the vicinity of the rear of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12. The airbag module AM includes an inflator assembly 20 (see FIG. 5) as a gas supply source and an airbag 30 inflated by the inflation gas G supplied from the inflator assembly 20 as main components.

  Next, each of these structural members will be described. Here, in the present embodiment, when the airbag module AM and its constituent members are referred to as “vertical direction” and “front-rear direction”, the seat back 14 of the vehicle seat 12 is used as a reference. The direction in which the seat back 14 stands is the “vertical direction”, and the thickness direction of the seat back 14 is the “front-rear direction”. Usually, since the seat back 14 is used in a state of being slightly inclined rearward, the “vertical direction” is not strictly a vertical direction but is slightly inclined. Similarly, the “front-rear direction” is not strictly a horizontal direction but is slightly inclined.

<Inflator assembly 20>
FIG. 4 schematically shows the airbag module AM together with the occupant P in a state where the airbag 30 is deployed in a planar shape without being filled with the inflation gas G (“planar deployed state”). 5 shows the inflator assembly 20 disposed in the airbag 30 of FIG. FIG. 6 shows the inflator assembly 20 shown in FIG. As shown in at least one of FIGS. 4 to 6, the inflator assembly 20 includes an inflator 21 and a retainer 22 that covers the inflator 21 from the outside. The inflator 21 has a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in the substantially vertical direction, and a gas generating agent (not shown) that reacts in response to an operation signal from the outside to generate an expansion gas G is accommodated therein. .

  A harness (not shown) serving as an operation signal application wiring to the inflator 21 is connected to the top of the inflator 21. Further, on the lower end side of the inflator 21, a gas ejection portion 23 having a substantially cylindrical shape and having a smaller diameter than other portions is provided. A plurality of gas ejection holes 24 through which the expansion gas G generated by the gas generating agent is ejected in a direction (radial direction) perpendicular to the axis L of the inflator 21 is provided on the outer peripheral surface of the gas ejection portion 23. .

  The inflator 21 may be a type in which the partition wall of the high-pressure gas cylinder filled with the high-pressure gas is broken with explosives or the like and the expansion gas G is ejected instead of the type using the gas generating agent. .

  On the other hand, the retainer 22 is a member that functions as a diffuser and has a function of fixing the inflator 21 together with the airbag 30 to the seat frame 16 (see FIG. 6) in the seat back 14. Most of the retainer 22 is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape elongated in a substantially vertical direction by bending a plate material such as a metal plate. At least the lower end side of the retainer 22 is an open end 22A (see FIG. 5), and at least a part of the expansion gas G ejected from the gas ejection portion 23 is allowed to pass substantially downward. In FIG. 5, in order to illustrate the open end 22 </ b> A, a part of the lower end portion of the retainer 22 is broken and illustrated.

  In the retainer 22, a window portion 25 is provided above the open end 22 </ b> A and in the vicinity of the gas ejection portion 23 of the inflator 21. The window portion 25 allows at least a portion of the inflation gas G ejected from the gas ejection portion 23 to pass substantially forward.

  A plurality of (two in this embodiment) bolts 26 are fixed to the retainer 22 as locking members for attaching the retainer 22 to the seat frame 16. In other words, the bolt 26 is indirectly fixed to the inflator 21 via the retainer 22. These bolts 26 extend in a direction perpendicular to the axis L of the inflator 21.

The inflator assembly 20 may be one in which an inflator 21 and a retainer 22 are integrated.
<Airbag 30>
As shown in at least one of FIGS. 1 to 3, the airbag 30 receives impact from the outer side (downward in FIG. 2 and leftward in FIG. 3) due to a side collision or the like while the vehicle is running. When added, it is inflated and deployed by the inflation gas G from the inflator 21 (see FIGS. 5 and 6). The airbag 30 jumps out from the storage portion 15 toward the front of the vehicle in a state where a part of the airbag 30 remains in the storage portion 15, and is inflated and deployed in the gap G1 between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11. By doing so, the occupant P is restrained and protected from the impact.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 4 and 7, the airbag 30 is formed using a panel cloth (also referred to as a base cloth) 31 made of one piece of cloth. As the panel cloth 31, a material having high strength and flexibility and can be easily folded, for example, a woven cloth formed using polyester yarn, polyamide yarn or the like is suitable.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 7 and 8, the panel cloth 31 is overlapped in the vehicle width direction by being folded in two along a fold line 32 set at the central portion thereof. The folded airbag 30 is arranged so that the folding line 32 is located at the rear edge 30R of itself. Here, in order to distinguish the two overlapped portions of the panel cloth 31, the part located inside the vehicle is referred to as a cloth part 33, and the part located outside the car is referred to as a cloth part 34. In the panel cloth 31, the outer shapes of the cloth parts 33 and 34 are in a line-symmetric relationship with each other with the folding line 32 as the axis of symmetry. The shape and size of each of the fabric portions 33 and 34 are determined in the vicinity of the outside of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 when the airbag 30 is inflated and deployed between the vehicle seat 12 and the body side portion 11. The wide area corresponding to the chest PT and the shoulder PS from the waist PP can be occupied. The airbag 30 may be formed using two panel cloths.

  In the vicinity of the center portion of the panel cloth 31, a reinforcing cloth 35 for supplementing the strength of both the fabric portions 33, 34 (increasing the strength against the heat of the expansion gas G) includes both the fabric portions 33 including the folding line 32. , 34 is arranged in a state straddling. The reinforcing cloth 35 is formed using a single piece of cloth, and is positioned on a cloth part 36 located on the cloth part 33 on the inner side of the panel cloth 31 and on a cloth part 34 on the outer side of the panel cloth 31. The cloth part 37 to be provided is provided. The reinforcing cloth 35 may be formed using two cloths.

  The fabric portion 36 on the vehicle interior side of the reinforcing fabric 35 is coupled to the fabric portion 33 on the vehicle interior side of the panel fabric 31 by an inner coupling portion 38. Similarly, the fabric portion 37 on the vehicle exterior side of the reinforcing fabric 35 is coupled to the fabric portion 34 on the vehicle exterior side of the panel fabric 31 by the inner coupling portion 39. In the state in which the airbag 30 and the reinforcing cloth 35 are deployed, the inner coupling portions 38 and 39 are generally U-shaped as a whole. The lower end portion of the inner coupling portion 38 on the inner side of the vehicle has a linear shape extending substantially in the front-rear direction, and constitutes the first outflow side coupling portion 41 in the claims. Further, the lower end portion of the inner coupling portion 39 outside the vehicle has a linear shape extending substantially in the front-rear direction, and constitutes the second outflow side coupling portion 42 in the claims. The direction in which the first outflow side coupling portion 41 and the second outflow side coupling portion 42 extend is a direction substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the expansion gas G (the vertical direction in FIGS. 7 and 8) in the communication passage 50 described later. is there. The inner coupling portion 38 on the inner side of the vehicle is formed by sewing both the fabric portions 33 and 36 with sewing threads, and the inner coupling portion 39 on the outer side of the vehicle is formed by sewing both the fabric portions 34 and 37 with sewing threads. Yes.

  Regarding this sewing, in FIGS. 4, 7, 8, 9, 12 to 16, and FIGS. 17, 19, 21, and 22 showing other examples, the sewing portion is expressed by two line types. is doing. One line type is a line (a kind of broken line) that is expressed by arranging a thick line of a certain length intermittently. This indicates the state of the sewing thread outside the cloth to be stitched (not between cloths). ing. The other line type is a line (a type of broken line) in which dots are arranged at regular intervals, and indicates the state of the sewing thread inside the cloth to be sewn (between cloths). That is, the drawing in which the sewing is expressed in the latter manner shows a cross-sectional structure along a cross section passing through the sewing portion.

  The inner coupling portions 38 and 39 may be formed by means different from the stitching using the sewing thread, for example, bonding using an adhesive. This point is related to various joints to be described later, specifically, the peripheral joint part 43, the partition joint part 44, the inner joint parts 38 and 39, the outflow side joint parts 41 and 42, the wall part joint part 63, and one side edge joint. The same applies to the part 67 and the auxiliary coupling part 69, and also to the inflexible part 65.

  As shown in at least one of FIGS. 4 and 7, the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the inside of the vehicle and the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the outside of the vehicle are mainly provided at the peripheral portions (excluding the rear edge portion). The peripheral joint 43 is integrally connected. A space between the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the inner side of the vehicle and the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the outer side of the vehicle and surrounded by the peripheral joint portion 43 is a place where the expansion gas G expands.

  Both the fabric portions 33 and 34 of the panel cloth 31 and the both fabric portions 36 and 37 of the reinforcing fabric 35 are integrally coupled by a partition coupling portion 44 that is a part of the peripheral coupling portion 43. The partition coupling portion 44 divides the airbag 30 into a lower inflating portion having a relatively small capacity and an upper inflating portion located above the inflating portion and having a larger capacity than the inflating portion. ing. The partition coupling portion 44 connects a pair of extending portions 45 extending rearward from the front ends of the fabric portions 33, 34, 36, and 37 and the rear ends of both extending portions 45 in a state of being separated from each other in the vertical direction. And a connecting portion 46. The connecting portion 46 has a protruding portion 47 that protrudes rearward. Further, the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the inside of the vehicle and the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the outside of the vehicle are integrally coupled by a part of the rear portion of the peripheral edge coupling portion 43 (a portion indicated by reference numeral 43A). .

  The inflatable portion below the partition connecting portion 44 is a “lower inflatable portion EL” that restrains and protects the lower back PP by inflating and deploying with a relatively high internal pressure mainly in the vicinity of the outer side of the lower back PP of the occupant P. It is composed. In addition, the inflating portion above the partition connecting portion 44 has an internal pressure lower than that of the lower inflating portion EL in the vicinity of the outer side of the chest PT (more precisely, the portion from the abdominal portion PB to the shoulder portion PS) of the occupant P. The “upper inflatable portion EU” is configured to inflate and deploy to protect the chest PT and the like. The lower expansion portion EL corresponds to a “gas inflow expansion portion” in the claims, and the upper expansion portion EU corresponds to a “gas outflow expansion portion”.

  The connecting portion 46 is located at a position slightly away from the rear edge portion 30R of the airbag 30 forward. More precisely, the airbag 30 is sandwiched between the rear portions of the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the inner side of the vehicle and the rear portions of the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the outer side of the vehicle, and between the rear edge portion 30R and the connection portion 46. This space constitutes a communication path 50 that serves as a flow path for the expansion gas G by allowing the lower expansion portion EL and the upper expansion portion EU to communicate with each other. Of the rear portions of the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the vehicle interior side, the portion constituting the vehicle interior wall portion of the communication path 50 is referred to as a first communication wall portion 51. Moreover, let the part which comprises the vehicle exterior wall part of the communicating path 50 among the fabric parts 34 and 37 of a vehicle exterior be the 2nd communication wall part 52 (refer FIG. 8, FIG. 11). The first communication wall 51 and the second communication wall 52 overlap each other in a flat state when the airbag 30 is not inflated.

As shown in FIG. 9, in the communication passage 50, the interval between the rear edge portion 30 </ b> R of the airbag 30 and the connection portion 46 is the narrowest at the tip 47 </ b> T of the protruding portion 47.
The peripheral joint portion 43 including the partition joint portion 44 is formed by sewing the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the vehicle inner side and the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the vehicle outer side with sewing threads.

  The portions surrounded by the partition connecting portions 44 (both the upper and lower extending portions 45 and the connecting portion 46) in the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the vehicle interior and the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the vehicle exterior are expanded by the expansion gas G. There is no non-inflatable part 48.

<Attachment Mode of Inflator Assembly 20 to Airbag 30>
As shown in FIG. 4, the inflator assembly 20 is disposed in the vicinity of the communication path 50 in the airbag 30 in a posture inclined so as to become lower toward the front side. Here, the inflator assembly 20 is disposed so that the lower end portion thereof is positioned in the vicinity of the rear of the connecting portion 46. With this arrangement, most of the inflator assembly 20 is located above the connection portion 46.

  Both the bolts 26 fixed to the retainer 22 are inserted into the rear end portions of the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the inner side of the vehicle (see FIGS. 5 and 6). In addition, the airbag 30 is airtight at the upper end portion of the inflator assembly 20 by an annular fastener (not shown) attached to the outside of the airbag 30 in the vicinity of the peripheral joint portion 43A (see FIG. 4). It is concluded with.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 9 to 11, the check valve 60 that restricts the flow of the expansion gas G from the lower expansion portion EL to the upper expansion portion EU includes the communication passage. 50. Next, the check valve 60 will be described.

<Check valve 60>
The check valve 60 is formed using one piece of fabric 58. The fabric 58 is disposed in a state of straddling the fabric portions 33, 34, 36, and 37 of the panel fabric 31 and the reinforcing fabric 35 including the fold line 32 of the panel fabric 31. The cloth 58 is folded in two along the fold lines 32 and 59 together with the panel cloth 31 and the reinforcing cloth 35 in a state where the fold line 59 set in the center portion of the cloth 58 matches the fold line 32 of the panel cloth 31. Are superimposed in a flat state in the vehicle width direction. Here, in order to distinguish the two overlapped portions of the fabric 58, the one located on the vehicle interior side is referred to as the first valve body portion 61, and the one located on the vehicle exterior side is referred to as the second valve body portion 62. To do.

  A part of the inner coupling parts 38 and 39 and a part of the partition coupling part 44 are used for coupling the reinforcing body 35 and the airbag 30 of both valve body parts 61 and 62. The part of the inner coupling part 38 used for coupling the reinforcing cloth 35 of the first valve body 61 and the airbag 30 is a lower end part of the inner coupling part 38, and as described above, The first outflow side coupling portion 41 extends in a direction (front-rear direction) substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the expansion gas G in the communication passage 50. Similarly, the part of the inner coupling portion 39 used for coupling the second valve body portion 62 to the reinforcing cloth 35 and the airbag 30 is a lower end portion of the inner coupling portion 39, and is a communication path. 50 is a second outflow side coupling portion 42 extending in a direction (front-rear direction) substantially orthogonal to the flow direction of the expansion gas G at 50.

  An upper end portion that is an end portion on the upper expansion portion EU side of the first valve body portion 61 is coupled to the first communication wall portion 51 by a first outflow side coupling portion 41 inside the vehicle. Similarly, an upper end portion that is an end portion on the upper expansion portion EU side of the second valve body portion 62 is coupled to the second communication wall portion 52 by a second outflow side coupling portion 42 on the vehicle outer side. In this case, the first outflow side coupling portion 41 inside the vehicle stitches the first valve body portion 61 of the check valve 60 and the fabric portion 36 of the reinforcing cloth 35 to the fabric portion 33 of the panel cloth 31 (co-sewing). ) Is formed. Further, the second outflow side coupling portion 42 on the vehicle exterior side stitches the second valve body portion 62 of the check valve 60 and the fabric portion 37 of the reinforcing fabric 35 to the fabric portion 34 of the panel fabric 31 (co-sewing). It is formed by doing. In the check valve 60, the upper end portion of the first valve body portion 61 inside the vehicle and the upper end portion of the second valve body portion 62 outside the vehicle are not coupled to each other.

  Further, the part of the partition coupling portion 44 used for the integral coupling of the valve body portions 61 and 62 with the reinforcing cloth 35 and the airbag 30 is mainly the connection portion 46. The connection portion 46 also serves as the one-side edge coupling portion 67 and the wall portion coupling portion 63. The one side edge coupling portion 67 has at least one communication wall portion 51, 52 corresponding to one side portion (front side portion) in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portions 41, 42 for each of the valve body portions 61, 62. It is to be combined. Moreover, the wall part coupling | bond part 63 couple | bonds at least both the communication wall parts 51 and 52 mutually on the one side edge coupling | bond part 67 or its vicinity. In order to function as both the one-side edge coupling portion 67 and the wall portion coupling portion 63, the connection portion 46 connects both the valve body portions 61 and 62 to both the communication wall portions 51 of the airbag 30 and the reinforcing cloth 35. , 52 are integrally coupled. In this case, the partition coupling portion 44 is formed by sewing (co-sewing) the airbag 30, the reinforcing cloth 35, and the check valve 60.

  In each of the valve body portions 61 and 62, the portion in the vicinity of the lower expansion portion EL side with respect to the both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 is soft and the outflow side expansion portion (upper expansion portion) due to the pressure of the expansion gas G. The flexible portion 64 can be easily bent toward the EU) side. This portion is a region (region surrounded by a one-dot chain line in FIG. 9) between the two outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 and a portion that is separated by a length L1 downward therefrom.

  With respect to both valve body portions 61 and 62, the rear side portion that is the other side portion in the extending direction of both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 is the other side edge that extends along the flow direction of the expansion gas G in the communication passage 50. They are connected to each other by a connecting portion 68. In the present embodiment in which the first valve body 61 on the vehicle interior and the second valve body 62 on the vehicle exterior are formed by folding one fabric 58 along the fold line 59, the folded portion (folding) The line 59 and its vicinity) correspond to the other side edge coupling portion 68.

  Further, the both valve body portions 61 and 62 are slightly separated from the other side portion (rear side portion) in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42, more precisely, from the fold line 59 of the fabric 58. A difficult-to-flexible portion 65 is provided at the location. The difficult-to-flexible portion 65 further starts from a location in the vicinity of the inflow side expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) of the flexible portion 64 on the other side portion (rear side portion). ). Here, the location in the vicinity of the inflow side inflatable portion (lower inflatable portion EL) is a location at a certain distance (length L1) downward from both outflow side coupling portions 41, 42 with the flexible portion 64 in between. is there. The inflexible portion 65 is formed by stitching both valve body portions 61 and 62 in one row or a plurality of rows (here, two rows) with a sewing thread. It is harder (higher in rigidity) than the other coupling parts (both outflow side coupling parts 41, 42, one side edge coupling part 67 and wall part coupling part 63) in 60, and is difficult to bend.

  The rigid portion 65 also serves as the auxiliary coupling portion 69. The auxiliary coupling portion 69 is between the one side edge coupling portion 67 and the other side edge coupling portion 68 of the both valve body portions 61 and 62, and in the vicinity of the front side of the other side edge coupling portion 68, the first valve body portion. 61 and the 2nd valve body part 62 are couple | bonded mutually. Further, the auxiliary coupling portion 69 starts from a location in the vicinity of the gas inflow expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) of the flexible portion 64, that is, from the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 with the flexible portion 64 interposed therebetween. Starting from a location away from the inflow expansion section (lower expansion section EL), the gas expansion section (lower expansion section EL) is further extended.

  As described above, in the communication path 50, the distance between the rear edge portion 30 </ b> R of the airbag 30 and the connection portion 46 is the narrowest at the tip 47 </ b> T of the protruding portion 47. From this, the distance between the one-side edge coupling portion 67 (wall portion coupling portion 63) and the rigid portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) (the flow area DS of the expansion gas G) is the tip 47T of the protrusion 47. In the minimum.

  The stiffening portion 65 restricts the upper end portions of the communication wall portions 51 and 52 and the upper end portions of the valve body portions 61 and 62 from opening to both sides in the vehicle width direction (moving away from the opponent). . The degree of this restriction is such that the upper end portion 65U of the difficult-to-flexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) approaches the outflow-side coupling portions 41 and 42 (as the length L1 becomes shorter), or the difficult-to-flexible portion 65 has the protruding portion 47. The closer to the tip 47T, the stronger. Therefore, the upper end portion 65U of the difficult-to-flexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) has a position (height that does not greatly hinder the opening operation of the upper end portions of the communicating wall portions 51 and 52 and the valve body portions 61 and 62. ) Is set.

  Here, in the check valve 60 having the above-described configuration, as shown in FIG. 12, the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) is moved forward from the fold line 59 (other side edge coupling portion 68) of the fabric 58. It is provided in the place. From this, in the flexible part 64, the space | interval D1 of the fold line 59 (other side edge coupling | bond part 68) and the wall part coupling | bond part 63 (one side edge coupling | bond part 67) is the hard part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69). ) And the wall connecting portion 63 (one side edge connecting portion 67). This is because, when the check valve 60 expands due to the expansion gas G flowing between the valve body portions 61 and 62, the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) and the wall coupling portion 63 (one side edge). The region between the coupling portion 67) is cylindrical with a smaller inner diameter than the flexible portion 64 which is the region between the other side edge coupling portion 68 and the wall portion coupling portion 63 (one side edge coupling portion 67). It means to expand.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 9, let the length of the hard part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69) be L2. In the wall coupling part 63 (one side edge coupling part 67), the point B (the tip 47T of the projecting part 47) where the space between the rigid part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69) is the smallest and both outflow side coupling parts A distance between the end portion C on the side of the hard-to-be-stiffened portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) in 41 and 42 is D3. In the present embodiment, the length L2 and the interval D3 are set so that the relationship L2> D3 is satisfied.

  An inclined portion 66 that is inclined so as to be higher toward the front side is provided at the lower part of the valve body portions 61 and 62. In this inclined part 66, both valve body parts 61 and 62 are not mutually connected. Further, as described above, the upper end portion of the first valve body portion 61 is coupled to the first communication wall portion 51 (the fabric portions 33 and 36 on the vehicle interior side), and the upper end portion of the second valve body portion 62 is Although connected to the two communication wall portions 52 (the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the vehicle exterior side), their upper end portions are not connected to each other. Accordingly, the check valve 60 expands into a cylindrical shape opened at the inclined portion 66 and the upper end portion when the expansion gas G is supplied.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the first valve body 61 on the inner side of the check valve 60 is coupled to the fabric parts 33 and 36 on the inner side by the first outflow side coupling portion 41. Cannot flow through the first valve body portion 61 and the fabric portions 33 and 36 from the lower expansion portion EL toward the upper expansion portion EU or in the opposite direction. Similarly, since the second valve body portion 62 on the vehicle exterior side of the check valve 60 is coupled to the fabric portions 34 and 37 on the vehicle exterior side by the second outflow side coupling portion 42, the expansion gas G is the second one. It is impossible to flow between the valve body portion 62 and the fabric portions 34 and 37 from the lower expansion portion EL toward the upper expansion portion EU or in the opposite direction. The expansion gas G flows from the lower expansion portion EL toward the upper expansion portion EU or in the opposite direction only by passing between the valve body portions 61 and 62 of the check valve 60 as a flow path. Is possible.

  In FIG. 9, there is a portion E between the first valve body 61 and the fabric portion 33 on the vehicle inner side and sandwiched between the inner coupling portion 38 and the connection portion 46. This location E can be a flow path for the expansion gas G. However, since the first valve body portion 61 sticks to the fabric portion 33 due to the expanding force of the upper expansion portion EU, the expansion gas G hardly flows through the portion E. There is a portion (flow path) between the second valve body portion 62 and the fabric portion 34 outside the vehicle and sandwiched between the inner coupling portion 39 and the connection portion 46. This portion is also the same as described above. The expansion gas G hardly flows.

  Of course, sewing may be performed so that the inner coupling portion 38 and the connection portion 46 intersect each other, and in this case, the portion E that can be the flow path of the inflation gas G is not formed. The problem of gas G distribution does not occur.

  As shown in FIG. 9, the upper end portions of both valve body portions 61 and 62 are located in the vicinity of the rear of the partition coupling portion 44 and face the upper expansion portion EU. The inclined portions 66 of both valve body portions 61 and 62 are located in the upper part of the lower expansion portion EL and in the vicinity of the rear of the partition coupling portion 44. The retainer 22 of the inflator assembly 20 enters the upper portion of the check valve 60 only at the lower end portion.

  Incidentally, as shown in FIG. 6, the airbag module AM has a compact form ("" Storage form "). This is to make the airbag module AM suitable for storage in a limited (small) storage portion 15 (see FIGS. 1 and 2) in the seat back 14.

  In the airbag module AM in the above-described storage configuration, the bolt 26 inserted through the airbag 30 and the reinforcing cloth 35 is inserted into the seat frame 16, and the nut 17 is fastened to the bolt 26, whereby the seat frame 16 Fixed to.

The retainer 22 may be fixed to the vehicle (the seat frame 16 or the like) by a member different from the bolt 26 described above.
The side airbag device includes an impact sensor 71 and a control device 72 shown in FIG. 1 in addition to the airbag module AM described above. The impact sensor 71 is composed of an acceleration sensor or the like, is attached to the body side portion 11 of the vehicle, and detects an impact applied to the body side portion 11 from the outside. The control device 72 controls the operation of the inflator 21 based on the detection signal from the impact sensor 71.

  As described above, the side airbag device of the present embodiment is configured. Next, typical operation modes (modes) of the side airbag device will be described with reference to FIGS. 12 to 16 schematically show how the configuration of the check valve 60 changes with time in accordance with the supply / stop state of the expansion gas G, and details are omitted / simplified. Has been. For example, in FIGS. 12-16, the division coupling | bond part 44 is illustrated with one broken line. Further, as indicated by the dashed-dotted line frame J, the folding line 32 of the airbag 30 and the check valve 60 are provided in the vicinity of the end portions of the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 on the side of the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69). The folding lines 59 are separated from each other, but in actuality, the folding lines 32 and 59 coincide with each other. Therefore, the inflation gas G does not flow between the rear end portion of the airbag 30 and the rear end portion of the check valve 60.

  In this side airbag device, when no impact is applied to the vehicle from the side due to a side collision or the like, the airbag 30 is placed in a storage configuration and is continuously stored in the storage portion 15 together with the inflator assembly 20. At this time, in the check valve 60, the first valve body 61 on the vehicle inner side and the second valve body 62 on the vehicle outer side continue to overlap (see FIG. 12).

  On the other hand, when an impact of a predetermined value or more is applied to the body side portion 11 while the vehicle is traveling, and this is detected by the impact sensor 71, the control device 72 applies this to the inflator 21 based on the detection signal. An operation signal for operation is output. In response to this operation signal, in the inflator 21, as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the gas generating agent generates a high-temperature and high-pressure expansion gas G from the plurality of gas ejection holes 24 of the gas ejection section 23. It ejects in a direction (radial direction) orthogonal to the axis L of the inflator 21. Part of the inflation gas G flows through the window portion 25 of the retainer 22 toward the upper inflation portion EU. The inflating gas G that flows in causes the upper expanding portion EU to start expanding.

  A part of the inflation gas G flows through the lower open end 22A of the retainer 22 toward the lower inflation portion EL. That is, the gap between the portion of the retainer 22 different from the window portion 25 and the inflator 21 can serve as a passage for the expansion gas G from some of the gas ejection holes 24. Therefore, the expansion gas G ejected from the gas ejection holes 24 and hitting the retainer 22 changes the flow direction into two directions (substantially upward and substantially downward) along the axis L of the inflator 21. However, the portion of the inflator 21 above the gas ejection part 23 has a larger diameter than the gas ejection part 23, and the gap between the retainer 22 is between the gas ejection part 23 and the retainer 22. Smaller than the gap. For this reason, the expansion gas G whose flow direction has been changed hardly flows upward, and easily flows downward. Therefore, most of the inflation gas G whose flow direction has been changed by hitting the retainer 22 as described above flows into the check valve 60 through the lower open end 22A of the retainer 22.

  During the period in which the expansion gas G from the inflator 21 is supplied to the check valve 60, the first valve body portion 61 and the second valve body portion 62 tend to be cylindrical as shown in FIG. Force is generated. For example, the upper end portion of the first valve body portion 61 is coupled to the first communication wall portion 51, and the upper end portion of the second valve body portion 62 is coupled to the second communication wall portion 52. (See FIGS. 8 and 10). Furthermore, with respect to both valve body portions 61 and 62, one side edge coupling portion 67 with respect to communication wall portions 51 and 52 corresponding to at least one side portion (front side portion) in the extending direction of both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42. It is because it is couple | bonded by (wall part coupling | bond part 63). Furthermore, the other side portions (rear side portions) in the same direction of both valve body portions 61 and 62 are also coupled to each other by the auxiliary coupling portion 69 (hard-to-bend portion 65).

  However, when both valve body parts 61 and 62 are going to become a cylindrical shape, an inner diameter (peripheral length) differs in the flexible part 64 and the part below it. As described above, in the check valve 60, the auxiliary coupling portion 69 (hardly flexible portion 65) is provided at a location away from the other side edge coupling portion 68 (folding line 59) of the fabric 58. Therefore, in the flexible part 64, the distance D1 between the other side edge coupling part 68 (fold line 59) and the one side edge coupling part 67 (wall part coupling part 63) is equal to the hard part 65 and the one side edge coupling. It is larger than the distance D2 from the portion 67 (wall portion coupling portion 63) (see FIG. 12). Therefore, the lower part of the both valve body parts 61 and 62 than the flexible part 64 tends to expand in a cylindrical shape with an inner diameter (peripheral length) smaller than that of the flexible part 64.

  However, as described above, for each of the valve body portions 61 and 62, one side portion (front side portion) in the extending direction of both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 is at least corresponding to the corresponding communication wall portions 51 and 52. In contrast, the other side portion (rear side portion) in the same direction is merely coupled to each other by the auxiliary coupling portion 69 (hard-to-bend portion 65) and is not coupled to the communication wall portions 51 and 52. . The one side portion (front side portion) of both valve body portions 61 and 62 cannot move with respect to the communication wall portions 51 and 52, whereas the other side portion (rear side portion) with respect to the communication wall portions 51 and 52. You can move. Moreover, in both valve body parts 61 and 62, the hard part 65 is hard and hard to bend, but the flexible part 64 is soft and easy to bend.

  Therefore, as described above, the flexible portion 64 in both valve body portions 61 and 62 expands in a cylindrical shape with a large inner diameter (circumferential length), and the lower portion of the flexible portion 64 has a smaller inner diameter (circumferential length). If it is going to expand in the shape of a cylinder, flexible part 64 will be drawn near to upper expansion part EU side, and will bend. Along with this, the lower part of the both valve body parts 61 and 62 than the flexible part 64 is a part near the upper end part 65U of the inflexible part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69) (in FIG. 14, a dotted line frame F). As shown by an arrow A in FIG. 13, with the fulcrum as a fulcrum, toward both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 (upper side) and wall portion coupling portion 63 side (one side edge coupling portion 67 side: front side). Gravitate. By this drawing, the inflexible portion 65 is inclined such that the lower side is positioned forward. Further, along with the pulling, wrinkles are likely to enter a portion that is easily bent between the wall connecting portion 63 (one side edge connecting portion 67) and the hard-to-flexible portion 65 (auxiliary connecting portion 69).

  The expansion gas G that has passed through the check valve 60 expanded in a cylindrical shape as described above flows into the lower expansion portion EL. The expansion gas G starts expansion of the lower expansion portion EL. Thus, the upper inflating part EU and the lower inflating part EL are inflated by the inflating gas G, so that the folded state is canceled in the reverse order of the order in which the airbag 30 is folded.

  The airbag 30 is deployed between the body side portion 11 and the vehicle seat 12 while eliminating the folded state while the rear portion of the airbag 30 remains in the storage portion 15 of the seat back 14. When the airbag 30 is inflated and deployed, as shown in at least one of FIGS. 3 and 4, the upper inflating portion EU is formed between the body side portion 11 and the chest PT of the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12. Inflate and deploy between. Further, the lower inflating part EL is inflated and deployed between the body side part 11 and the waist part PP of the passenger P. And each part of the side part of the passenger | crew P is restrained by the corresponding expansion part EU and EL of the airbag 30, and the passenger | crew P is protected from the impact by a side collision.

  At this time, the internal pressure of the upper expansion part EU rises later than the internal pressure of the lower expansion part EL due to the flow rate difference, volume difference, etc. of the expansion gas G supplied from the inflator 21. At the initial stage of inflation of the airbag 30, the internal pressure of the upper inflatable portion EU is lower than the internal pressure of the lower inflatable portion EL. As a result, the waist part PP having high impact resistance among the side parts of the occupant P is restrained and protected by the lower inflating part EL having high internal pressure. Further, the chest PT having low impact resistance is softly restrained and protected by the upper inflating portion EU having low internal pressure. The impact acting on the occupant P due to the inflation and deployment of the airbag 30 is smaller in the chest PT than in the waist PP or the like.

  Then, when the ejection of the expansion gas G from the inflator 21 is stopped, the expansion gas G in the lower expansion portion EL having a high internal pressure passes through the check valve 60 and the low internal pressure is increased as shown in FIG. The non-return valve 60 operates as follows when it tries to flow toward the expansion section EU side. The flexible part 64 that has been bent by being pulled toward the upper expansion part EU due to the difference in inner diameter (peripheral length) tends to flow toward the upper expansion part EU substantially simultaneously with the stoppage of the expansion gas G. The high pressure of the expansion gas G in the portion EL is received at once and is pressed toward the expansion portion EU side. As a result of this pressing, the flexible portion 64 in both valve body portions 61 and 62 is further pushed up as shown by the arrow H in FIG. 14, and accordingly, the lower portion of the flexible portion 64 is coupled to both outflow sides. It is further drawn toward the parts 41 and 42 side (upper side) and the wall part coupling part 63 side (one side edge coupling part 67 side: front side).

  At this time, the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) is also attracted and approaches the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42. The inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) has a fulcrum in the vicinity of the upper end portion 65U that is close to the both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 (portion surrounded by the frame F), while maintaining its own shape. It falls into the coupling | bond part 41,42 side (upper side) and the wall part coupling | bond part 63 side (one side edge coupling | bond part 67 side: front side). At this time, among the lower portions of the both valve body portions 61 and 62 from the flexible portion 64, the portion on the front side from the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) is also the same as the flexible portion 64. The high pressure of the expansion gas G in the lower expansion portion EL toward the upper expansion portion EU is received. As shown by an arrow I in FIG. 15, the portion that has received this pressure is bent obliquely forward and upward so as to be pushed between both valve body portions 61 and 62. Along with this, the space between the valve body portions 61 and 62, that is, the flow path of the expansion gas G is reduced.

  Here, in this embodiment, since the length L2 of the rigid part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69) is set longer than the interval D3 as described above (L2> D3), the rigid part 65 is In the middle of falling obliquely forward and upward as described above, as shown in FIG. This protrusion 47 restricts the rigid portion 65 from falling further toward both the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 (upper side) and the wall portion coupling portion 63 side (one side edge coupling portion 67 side: front side). In this state, the check valve 60 is substantially closed, and the expansion gas G in the lower expansion portion EL passes between the valve body portions 61 and 62 toward the upper expansion portion EU. Flow (reverse flow) is restricted.

Therefore, the internal pressure of the lower expansion portion EL, which has been increased to an appropriate internal pressure to protect the occupant's P waist portion PP, does not decrease due to the backflow to the upper expansion portion EU of the expansion gas G.
After that, the check valve 60 allows the expansion gas G to flow from the upper expansion portion EU to the lower expansion portion EL, but the expansion gas G in the lower expansion portion EL flows to the upper expansion portion EU (back flow). To be controlled). Therefore, for example, even if the internal pressure of the lower inflating portion EL is increased by the airbag device restraining the waist portion PP of the occupant P, the check valve 60 causes the inflation gas G in the lower inflating portion EL to be Flow to the EU is restricted. The internal pressure of the upper expansion part EU does not increase due to the influence of the pressure fluctuation of the lower expansion part EL accompanying the occupant P waist PP constraint.

  In particular, in this embodiment, the expansion gas G only flows through the check valve 60 between the upper expansion unit EU and the lower expansion unit EL, and the upper expansion unit EU and the expansion gas G do not pass through the check valve 60. The expansion gas G does not flow between the lower expansion portions EL. Therefore, the function of the check valve 60 is not impaired due to the flow of the expansion gas G.

  By the way, when the internal pressure of the lower inflating portion EL becomes so high that the inflexible portion 65 that has stopped by hitting the wall coupling portion 63 is increased over the wall coupling portion 63, both valve body portions 61, 62. The lower portion of the flexible portion 64 follows the hard-to-be-hardened portion 65, gets over the wall joint portion 63, and tries to turn over (reverse). When this phenomenon occurs, the closed flow path between the valve body portions 61 and 62 is opened, and the expansion gas G in the lower expansion portion EL having a high internal pressure passes through the check valve 60 and passes through the internal pressure. There is a risk of backflow to the lower upper expansion section EU side. However, in the present embodiment, the lower end portion of the inflator assembly 20 located in the vicinity of the both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 in the upper expansion portion EU is the rigid portion 65 and the both valve body portions 61 and 62. The movement from the position when the valve is closed to the upper expansion unit EU side more than necessary is restricted. As a result, the hard-to-bend part 65 and the two valve body parts 61 and 62 are unlikely to get over the wall part 63 or to be reversed (inverted).

  The above is a typical mode of operation (mode) of the side airbag device, but there may be a mode of operation (different mode) different from this. In this mode (another mode), the check valve 60 operates in the same manner as the above representative mode until halfway. In the middle, the flexible portion 64 is attracted to the gas outflow expansion portion side (upper expansion portion EU side: upper side), and the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) is on both outflow side coupling portions 41, 42 side (upper side). And until it is drawn toward the wall coupling portion 63 side (one side edge coupling portion 67 side: front side).

  After this drawing, the gas inflow / expansion part (lower expansion part EL) side of the flexible part 64 of both valve body parts 61, 62 moves toward the gas outflow expansion part (upper expansion part EU). Receiving the high pressure of the expansion gas G in the part (lower expansion part EL), the parts are brought close to each other. The part that has received this pressure is crushed toward the gas outflow expansion part (upper expansion part EU) while joining together from the side near the inflexible part 65 (auxiliary coupling part 69), and both valve body parts 61, 62 are collapsed. The flow path of the expansion gas G in between is closed.

According to the embodiment described in detail above, the following effects can be obtained.
(1) About each of both valve body parts 61 and 62 which constitute check valve 60, each upper end part which is an end part by the side of upper expansion part EU (gas outflow expansion part) is connected by outflow side connection parts 41 and 42. Are coupled to the corresponding communication wall portions 51 and 52. About each of both valve body parts 61 and 62, the gas outflow expansion part (upper expansion part EU) side in the location which becomes the gas inflow expansion part (lower expansion part EL) side with respect to both outflow side coupling | bond parts 41 and 42 A flexible portion 64 that can be bent is provided. For each of the valve body parts 61 and 62, one side edge part (front side part) in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling parts 41 and 42 is at least one side edge coupling part 67 with respect to the corresponding communication wall parts 51 and 52. Join by. This one side edge coupling portion 67 also serves as a wall portion coupling portion 63 that couples at least both communication wall portions 51 and 52 to each other. About both valve body parts 61 and 62, the other side part (rear side part) of the extension direction of the outflow side coupling | bond part 41 and 42 is mutually couple | bonded by the other side edge coupling | bond part 68 extended along a gas distribution direction. Between the one side edge coupling portion 67 and the other side edge coupling portion 68, in the vicinity of the other side edge coupling portion 68, both valve body portions 61 and 62 are mutually coupled, and the gas of the flexible portion 64 An auxiliary coupling portion 69 is provided that extends from the location near the inflow expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) to the gas inflow expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL). The auxiliary coupling portion 69 also serves as an inflexible portion 65 that extends along the gas flow direction and is less likely to bend than the flexible portion 64.

  Therefore, when the expansion gas G is supplied to the check valve 60, the valve body portions 61 and 62 are made cylindrical with the upper and lower ends open by the pressure of the expansion gas G, and the upper expansion portion EU. The expansion gas G can flow from the gas to the lower expansion portion EL. Further, when the supply of the expansion gas G is stopped, both valve bodies have a portion near the upper end portion 65U of the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) as a fulcrum due to an internal pressure difference between the expansion portions EL and EU. The inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) of the portions 61 and 62 is tilted toward both the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 (upper side) and the wall portion coupling portion 63 side (one side edge coupling portion 67 side: front side). . By allowing the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) to enter between the valve body portions 61 and 62, the flow path between the valve body portions 61 and 62 can be reduced. The check valve 60 can be closed to restrict the expansion gas G from flowing back from the lower expansion portion EL to the upper expansion portion EU.

  Thus, according to this embodiment, the check valve 60 can be reliably opened and closed. Further, since the check valve 60 is opened and closed by the pressure of the expansion gas G, it is not necessary to separately provide a means for driving the check valve 60, and the check valve 60 can be provided with a simple configuration.

  (2) The length L2 of the difficult-to-bend portion 65 is set so that the portion B of the wall joint portion 63 (the tip 47T of the protruding portion 47) and the hard-to-flexure portion 65 (auxiliary joint portion 69) at the outflow side joint portions 41 and 42 are both. It is set longer than the interval D3 with the side end C (FIG. 9). For this reason, the hard part 65 and the part of the lower expansion part EL (gas inflow expansion part) side rather than both the outflow side coupling parts 41 and 42 get over the wall part coupling part 63 (one side edge coupling part 67). Inversion can be suppressed and the flow path between both valve body parts 61 and 62 can be reliably maintained in a closed state.

  (3) The inflator assembly 20 (gas supply source) that supplies the inflating gas G into the airbag 30 has a lower end at both outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 in the upper inflatable portion EU (gas outflow inflating portion). It arrange | positions so that it may be located in the vicinity. Therefore, even if the internal pressure of the lower inflating portion EL becomes excessively high, it is possible to prevent the inflexible portion 65 and the both valve body portions 61 and 62 from getting over the wall portion 63 or turning over (reversing). The check valve 60 that is in the closed state can be reliably held in that state.

  (4) The inflexible portion 65 is formed by stitching the valve body portions 61 and 62 with sewing threads. Therefore, although both valve body parts 61 and 62 themselves are formed with the cloth and are easy to bend, it is difficult to bend more flexibly than the flexible part 64, although it is the simple structure of stitching both valve body parts 61 and 62 with a sewing thread. The flexible part 65 can be formed easily and reliably.

  (5) The airbag 30 is moved forward of the vehicle between the body side portion 11 and the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 by the inflation gas G supplied in response to an impact from the side of the vehicle. It is used for a side airbag device that is inflated and deployed. Further, the lower inflating portion EL that expands in the vicinity of the side of the waist portion PP of the occupant P is a gas inflow expansion portion, and the upper expansion portion EU that inflates in the vicinity of the side of the chest PT of the occupant P is a gas outflow expansion portion. Therefore, even if the internal pressure of the lower inflating portion EL rises due to the inflated airbag 30 constraining the lumbar portion PP of the occupant P, the check valve 60 causes the inflation gas G in the lower inflating portion EL to be generated. Backflow to the upper expansion part EU can be restricted. It is possible to suppress the internal pressure of the upper inflating part EU from increasing due to the influence of the pressure fluctuation of the lower inflating part EL accompanying the occupant P waist PP restraint. As a result, the waist PT having high impact resistance can be securely restrained by the lower inflating portion EL, and the chest PT having low impact resistance can be more softly protected from impact by the upper inflating portion EU.

Note that the present invention can be embodied in another embodiment described below.
<Matters related to inflator assembly 20>
-As the retainer 22, you may use the thing by which the upper end part was obstruct | occluded and only the lower end part was open | released, and the upper and lower both ends opened | released together.

The inflator 21 may be directly attached to the seat back 14 without using the retainer 22.
-You may change the retainer 22 into the inner tube formed in the cylinder shape with the fabric. However, this change is made on the assumption that the inner tube is not significantly damaged by the heat and pressure of the expansion gas G from the inflator 21.

  Such a change is possible, for example, when an inflator 21 that uses a relatively low temperature expansion gas G is used. The corresponding type of inflator is a hybrid type inflator filled with an expansion gas. This is because this type of inflator ejects the expansion gas G at a lower temperature than the pyro-type inflator that generates the expansion gas from the gas generating agent by a chemical reaction accompanied by heat generation.

  Even when a pyro-type inflator is used, the above-described change can be made by forming the inner tube using a coated cloth having a coating layer for improving heat resistance.

<Matters related to airbag 30>
-This invention is applicable also to the airbag apparatus in which an airbag has three or more expansion | swelling parts. In this case, a check valve is provided in the communication path between two adjacent expansion portions. When the airbag has three or more inflatable portions, the airbag has a plurality of combinations of adjacent inflatable portions. Accordingly, there are a plurality of communication paths in the airbag. In such an airbag, the check valve may be provided in at least one of the plurality of communication passages. Of course, the check valve may be provided in all the communication paths.

When the airbag 30 has a plurality of inflatable portions, it is desirable to determine which inflatable portion is the gas inflow inflatable portion and the gas outflow inflatable portion according to the impact resistance of the side of the occupant P. .
<Matters related to check valve 60>
-By changing the hardness (rigidity) of the hard part 65 or changing the length L2, the wall part 63 (protruding part 47) is passed over the hard part 65 and both valve body parts 61 , 62 can be adjusted to adjust the internal pressure of the lower expansion portion EL.

  As a means for changing the hardness (rigidity) of the difficult-to-bend part 65, when the hard-to-bend part 65 is formed by stitching, it is possible to change the type, thickness, etc. of the sewing thread or increase / decrease the number. It is done. For example, as the sewing thread becomes thicker and the number increases, the hard-to-flexible portion 65 becomes harder (the rigidity becomes higher), and the internal pressure of the lower expansion portion EL when the valve body portions 61 and 62 are reversed increases. . In addition, when the hard part 65 is formed by bonding, changing the type of adhesive or changing the application amount (thickness) is a means for changing the hardness (rigidity) of the hard part 65. It is done. For example, as the application amount increases, the hard-to-flex portion 65 becomes harder (stiffness increases), and the internal pressure of the lower expansion portion EL when the valve body portions 61 and 62 are reversed increases.

  -As shown in FIG.17 and FIG.18, you may provide the one side edge coupling | bond part 67 and the wall part coupling | bond part 63 in the different location of the airbag 30. FIG. In short, the one-side edge coupling portion 67 has at least a corresponding communication wall portion 51 corresponding to at least one side portion (front side portion) in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 for each of the valve body portions 61 and 62. , 52 may be used. Incidentally, in FIG. 18, the one side edge coupling portion 67 on the vehicle interior side couples the first valve body portion 61 only to the first communication wall portion 51, and the one side edge coupling portion 67 on the vehicle exterior side is the second valve body portion 62. The example which couple | bonded only with the 2nd communicating wall part 52 is shown.

  Moreover, the wall part coupling | bond part 63 should just be provided in the vicinity of the one side edge coupling | bond part 67, and should couple | bond at least both the communicating wall parts 51 and 52 mutually. Incidentally, FIG. 18 shows an example in which the wall coupling portion 63 couples only the two communication wall portions 51 and 52 to each other.

Thus, even when the one-side edge coupling portion 67 and the wall portion coupling portion 63 are provided at different locations, the same operations and effects as in the above embodiment can be obtained.
-As shown in FIG.19 and FIG.20, you may provide the difficultly-flexible part 65 and the auxiliary | assistant coupling | bond part 69 in the location where the both valve body parts 61 and 62 differ. In short, the auxiliary coupling portion 69 is connected between the one-side edge coupling portion 67 and the other-side edge coupling portion 68 and in the vicinity of the other-side edge coupling portion 68 to couple the valve body portions 61 and 62 to each other. At the same time, any portion may be used as long as it extends toward the gas inflow / expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) from the location near the gas inflow expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) side of the flexible portion 64. The hard-to-flex portion 65 may be provided on or near the auxiliary coupling portion 69 of the check valve 60, extends along the gas flow direction, and is less likely to bend than the flexible portion 64. Thus, even if it is a case where the hard part 65 and the auxiliary coupling part 69 are provided in a different location, the effect | action and effect similar to the said embodiment are acquired.

  As shown in FIGS. 19 and 20, the check valve 60 includes a pair of independent fabrics stacked in the vehicle width direction, and the fabric located inside the vehicle serves as the first valve body portion 61 and is located outside the vehicle. The cloth to be used may be the second valve body portion 62, and both the valve body portions 61, 62 may be joined in a cylindrical shape. In this case, the other side portions (rear side portions) in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portions 41 and 42 are coupled to each other by the other side edge coupling portion 68 for both valve body portions 61 and 62. In this respect, this modified example is different from the above-described embodiment in which one fabric 58 is folded in half and the folded portion (fold line 59 and its vicinity) is the other side edge coupling portion 68.

  The hard-to-flexible portion 65 is different from the sewing thread on the condition that “it extends along the gas flow direction on or near the auxiliary coupling portion 69 of the check valve 60 and is less likely to bend than the flexible portion 64”. You may change it. For example, as shown in FIG. 19 and FIG. 20, a long plate shape made of synthetic resin or metal may be used as the inflexible portion 65.

  In the above embodiment, the inflexible portion 65 (auxiliary coupling portion 69) of the check valve 60 is provided so as to be parallel to the other side edge coupling portion 68 (fold line 59), but as shown in FIG. In addition, it may be provided so as to extend in a direction intersecting with the other side edge coupling portion 68 (fold line 59). By doing so, it is possible to adjust the flow path area DS between the valve body portions 61 and 62 and thereby adjust the flow rate of the expansion gas G.

  For example, as the degree of crossing increases (the inclination angle with respect to the other side edge coupling portion 68 (fold line 59) increases), the distance from the one side edge coupling portion 67 (wall portion coupling portion 63) decreases, and the flow path The area DS is reduced and the flow rate of the expansion gas G flowing into the lower expansion portion EL is decreased.

  -In the airbag apparatus which divided the inside of the airbag into the some expansion | swelling part with the tether, you may provide a check valve in this tether. An example in which the tether with a check valve is applied to a side airbag device is shown in FIGS.

  The tether 80 includes a pair of component pieces 81 and 82 on the vehicle inner side and the vehicle outer side. One side edge (the left side in FIG. 23) of the component piece 81 on the vehicle interior side is coupled to the fabric portion 33 on the vehicle interior side of the airbag 30 by a side edge coupling portion 83 on the vehicle interior side. Further, one side edge (right side in FIG. 23) of the component piece 82 on the vehicle exterior side is coupled to the fabric portion 34 on the vehicle exterior side of the airbag 30 by a side edge coupling portion 83 on the vehicle exterior side. Further, the other side edge of each of the component pieces 81 and 82 is coupled to each other by a side edge coupling portion 84. In this way, the tether 80 having the two component pieces 81 and 82 is bridged between the fabric portion 33 on the inside of the vehicle and the fabric portion 34 on the outside of the vehicle in the airbag 30. The tether 80 is bent upward when the airbag 30 is not inflated. In addition, although each side edge coupling | bond part 83, 84 is formed by the sewing using a sewing thread here, it may replace with this and may be formed by adhesion | attachment using an adhesive agent. This is the same for various coupling portions described later, for example, the outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94, the one-side edge coupling portion 96, the wall portion coupling portion 97, and the auxiliary coupling portion 103, and also for the inflexible portion 102. It is the same.

  The airbag 30 is divided into an inflatable portion below and an inflatable portion above the tether 80 as a boundary. Here, for convenience of explanation, the former is expanded at a relatively low internal pressure to form a gas outflow expansion portion 85 that protects the chest PT or the like having low impact resistance, and the latter is expanded at an internal pressure higher than the former, The gas inflow / expansion part 86 protects the shoulder part PS and the like having higher impact resistance than PT. The tether 80 divides the airbag 30 into the two inflatable portions 85 and 86 as described above, and also has a function of regulating the inflated thickness of the airbag 30 in the vehicle width direction.

  A communication passage 87 that allows communication between the gas outflow expansion portion 85 and the gas inflow expansion portion 86 is provided in a part of the side edge coupling portion 84 in the length direction (left and right direction in FIG. 22). Here, a part of the side edge coupling portion 84 is divided, and a portion where the side edge coupling portion 84 is divided, that is, a portion that is not coupled by the side edge coupling portion 84 is present between the two component pieces 81 and 82. The communication path 87 is formed. A part of the component piece 81 on the inner side of the vehicle constitutes the first communication wall portion 88 of the communication passage 87, and a part of the component piece 82 on the outer side of the vehicle constitutes the second communication wall portion 89 of the communication passage 87. Yes. The first communication wall portion 88 and the second communication wall portion 89 overlap each other in a flat state when the inflating portions 85 and 86 are not inflated.

  The check valve 90 includes a first valve body portion 91 on the vehicle interior and a second valve body on the vehicle exterior formed by folding one piece of the fabric 100 in two along the fold line 101, as in the above embodiment. A valve body 92 is provided. Both valve body parts 91 and 92 overlap each other in a flat state when both inflating parts 85 and 86 are not inflated.

  The end (the lower end in FIGS. 22 and 23) of the first valve body 91 on the gas outflow / expansion part 85 side extends in a direction substantially orthogonal to the flow direction (vertical direction) of the expansion gas G in the communication passage 87. The first outflow side coupling portion 93 is coupled to the first communication wall portion 88. The end of the second valve body portion 92 on the gas outflow expansion portion 85 side is coupled to the second communication wall portion 89 by a second outflow side coupling portion 94 that extends in the substantially same direction as the first outflow side coupling portion 93. . In the check valve 90, the valve body portions 91 and 92 are not coupled to each other at the end portion on the gas outflow and expansion portion 85 side.

  For each of the valve body portions 91 and 92, the front side portion, which is one side portion in the extending direction of the both outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94, is connected to at least the corresponding communication wall portions 88 and 89 by the one side edge coupling portion 96. It is connected to. In the present embodiment, the front side portions of the valve body portions 91 and 92 are coupled to each other by the one side edge coupling portion 96. Further, the lower end portions of the front side portions of both valve body portions 91 and 92 are also coupled to both communication wall portions 88 and 89. That is, at the front lower end of both valve body portions 91 and 92, both valve body portions 91 and 92 and both communication wall portions 88 and 89 are integrally coupled. The lower end portion of the one side edge coupling portion 96 is formed by stitching together (co-sewing) the front side portions of both valve body portions 91 and 92 and the two communication wall portions 88 and 89 together. The one side edge coupling portion 96 extends from the end (upper end portion) of the both valve body portions 91 and 92 on the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 side toward the gas outflow / expansion portion 85 side. The end portion (lower end portion) of the one side edge coupling portion 96 on the gas outflow expansion portion 85 side intersects with the side edge coupling portion 84 and both outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94. Further, the lower part of the one side edge coupling portion 96 also serves as a wall portion coupling portion 97. The wall coupling portion 97 is provided on or near the one-side edge coupling portion 96, and couples at least the two communication wall portions 88 and 89 to each other.

  In each of the valve body portions 91 and 92, a portion that is in the vicinity of the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 side with respect to the outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94 (a portion surrounded by an alternate long and short dash line in FIG. 22) is soft and expands. The flexible portion 98 can be easily bent to the gas outflow expansion portion 85 side (the lower side in FIG. 22) by the pressure of G.

  With respect to the valve body portions 91 and 92, the rear side portions, which are the other side portions in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94, are coupled to each other by the other side edge coupling portion 99 extending along the gas flow direction. ing. As described above, in this modified example, the first valve body portion 91 on the vehicle interior side and the second valve body portion 92 on the vehicle exterior side are formed by folding one piece of the fabric 100 along the fold line 101. Therefore, the folded portion (fold line 101 and the vicinity thereof) corresponds to the other side edge coupling portion 99.

  Further, the valve body portions 91 and 92 are slightly separated forward from the other side portion (rear side portion) in the extending direction of the both outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94, more precisely from the fold line 101 of the fabric 100. A difficult-to-bend part 102 is provided at the location. The difficult-to-flexible portion 102 extends further to the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 side, starting from a location near the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 side of the flexible portion 98 on the other side portion (rear side portion). Here, the location in the vicinity of the gas outflow expansion portion 85 side is a location that is spaced a certain distance upward from both outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94 with the flexible portion 98 in between. The inflexible portion 102 is formed by stitching both valve body portions 91 and 92 in one or a plurality of rows (here, two rows) with a sewing thread, and is more flexible than the flexible portion 98. It is harder (higher in rigidity) than the other coupling portions 90 (both the outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94, the one side edge coupling portion 96, and the wall portion coupling portion 97), and is difficult to bend.

  The hardened portion 102 also serves as the auxiliary coupling portion 103. The auxiliary coupling portion 103 is located between the one side edge coupling portion 96 and the other side edge coupling portion 99 of the both valve body portions 91 and 92, and in the vicinity of the front side of the other side edge coupling portion 99. , 92 are connected to each other. Further, the auxiliary coupling portion 103 starts from a location near the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 with respect to the flexible portion 98, that is, from the outflow side coupling portions 93 and 94 with the flexible portion 98 interposed therebetween. Starting from a location away from the 86 side, it extends toward the gas inflow / expansion portion 86 side.

  Thus, the check valve 90 corresponding to the check valve 60 of the above embodiment has the same configuration as the check valve 60 although the application location is different. Therefore, also in this case, the same operation and effect as the above embodiment can be obtained.

-You may change both valve body parts 61 and 62 into the shape which does not have the inclination part 66 in the lower expansion part EL side (gas inflow expansion part side: lower side).
-Both outflow side coupling | bond part 41,42,93,94 should just extend in the direction which cross | intersects the flow direction of the expansion gas G in the communicating path 50,87, and unlike the said embodiment etc., it is not necessarily the same. It does not have to extend in a direction substantially orthogonal to the distribution direction.

  -Between both expansion parts EU and EL, or between 85 and 86 so that the internal pressure of gas outflow expansion part (upper expansion part EU) 85 becomes lower than the internal pressure of gas inflow expansion part (lower expansion part EL) 86 When the internal pressure difference is provided, the check valves 60 and 90 are easily operated. As a means for generating the internal pressure difference, for example, a vent hole is provided in the gas outflow expansion part (upper expansion part EU) 85. In addition, providing the vent holes in both the gas outflow expansion section (upper expansion section EU) 85 and the gas inflow expansion section (lower expansion section EL) 86 may be mentioned as the above means. However, in this case, the expansion gas G is supplied from the gas inflow expansion portion (lower expansion portion EL) 86 rather than the gas outflow expansion portion (upper expansion portion EU) 85 by changing the size of the vent hole. A device to make it difficult to discharge is required.

<Matters related to the location of the air bag module AM>
When the airbag device is embodied as a side airbag device as in the above-described embodiment, the storage portion 15 is replaced with the seat back 14, and the occupant P seated on the vehicle seat 12 in the body side portion 11 is used. You may provide in the location used as the vehicle outer side vicinity.

<Other matters>
-This invention is applicable also to the airbag apparatus of a type different from a side airbag apparatus.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 ... Body side part, 12 ... Vehicle seat, 20 ... Inflator assembly (gas supply source), 30 ... Air bag, 41, 93 ... 1st outflow side coupling | bond part, 42, 94 ... 2nd outflow side coupling | bond part, 50 , 87 ... communication path, 51, 88 ... first communication wall part, 52, 89 ... second communication wall part, 60, 90 ... check valve, 61, 91 ... first valve body part, 62, 92 ... second Valve body part, 63, 97 ... Wall part joint part, 64, 98 ... Flexible part, 65, 102 ... Difficult part, 67, 96 ... One side edge joint part, 68, 99 ... Other side edge joint part, 69 , 103 ... auxiliary coupling part, 85 ... gas outflow expansion part, 86 ... gas inflow expansion part, B ... location, C ... end part, D3 ... interval, EL ... lower expansion part (gas inflow expansion part), EU ... upper expansion Part (gas outflow expansion part), G ... gas for expansion, L2 ... length, P ... occupant, PP ... waist, PT ... chest.

Claims (6)

An airbag having a plurality of inflating portions that are inflated by an inflating gas, and the two adjacent inflating portions communicated with each other by a communicating path provided between a pair of communicating walls, and the communicating path A check valve for restricting the inflow of the expansion gas from one of the two expansion portions to the other, the one expansion portion serving as a gas inflow expansion portion; An airbag device having the other inflating portion as a gas outflow inflating portion,
Each end of the both valve body portions on the gas outflow expansion portion side is coupled to the corresponding communication wall portion at an outflow side coupling portion extending in a direction intersecting the gas flow direction of the expansion gas in the communication passage. ,
For each of the valve body portions, a flexible portion that can be bent toward the gas outflow expansion portion side is provided at a location near the outflow side coupling portion on the gas inflow expansion portion side,
For each of the two valve body portions, one side edge coupling portion that couples the same side portion to at least the corresponding communication wall portion is provided on one side portion in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling portion,
On or near the one side edge coupling portion, a wall coupling portion that couples at least the two communication wall portions to each other is provided,
About the both valve body parts, the other side edge coupling part that extends along the gas flow direction and couples the valve body parts to each other is provided on the other side part in the extending direction of the outflow side coupling part. And
Between the one side edge coupling portion and the other side edge coupling portion, in the vicinity of the other side edge coupling portion, the valve body portions are coupled to each other, and the gas inflow expansion of the flexible portion A supplementary coupling portion is provided that extends to the gas inflow / expansion portion side, starting from the location near the portion side,
An airbag device characterized in that an inflexible portion that extends along the gas flow direction and is less likely to bend than the flexible portion is provided on or in the vicinity of the auxiliary coupling portion. The length of the hard part is longer than the distance between the part where the distance between the hard part and the hard part is the narrowest in the wall joint part and the hard part side end of the two outflow side joint parts. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the airbag apparatus is set. The gas supply source for supplying the inflation gas into the airbag is arranged such that an end portion on the gas inflow / expansion portion side is positioned in the vicinity of the both outflow side coupling portions in the gas outflow / expansion portion. The airbag device according to claim 1 or 2. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the difficult-to-flexible portion is formed by stitching the valve body portions with a sewing thread. The airbag is directed toward the front of the vehicle between the body side portion of the vehicle and an occupant seated on the vehicle seat by the inflation gas supplied in response to a side impact on the vehicle. The airbag device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, which is inflated and deployed. The gas inflow expansion portion is a lower expansion portion that expands and develops in the vicinity of the side of the occupant's waist, and the gas outflow expansion portion is provided on the upper side of the lower expansion portion, and on the side of the chest of the occupant The airbag device according to claim 5, wherein the airbag device is an upper inflating portion that inflates and deploys in the vicinity.

Images