JP7616104B2 - Occupant protection devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat.

Conventionally, occupant protection devices have been configured to place a folded airbag in front of the hips of an occupant seated in a seat so that it is held by a holder, and to inflate the airbag by injecting inflation gas into the airbag, causing it to protrude from the holder and cover the front of the occupant (see, for example, Patent Document 1). In this conventional occupant protection device, when the airbag is fully inflated, the rear side area is positioned roughly along the vertical direction to cover the front of the occupant's abdomen to head, thereby protecting the occupant.

US Patent Application Publication No. 2019/299899

However, in conventional occupant protection devices, the rear surface of the airbag that restrains the occupant when fully inflated is positioned roughly in the vertical direction, so the occupant's head is positioned farther away from this rear surface than the thorax, leaving room for improvement in terms of quickly protecting the head with the fully inflated airbag. Conversely, the thorax is immediately received by the rear side of the fully inflated airbag, so there is also room for improvement in terms of reducing pressure on the thorax and providing softer protection for the upper body.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing an occupant protection device that can quickly restrain the occupant's head and softly receive the upper body.

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat,
an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored;
A holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of the waist of an occupant seated in the seat;
an inflator capable of supplying inflation gas to the airbag;
The configuration includes:
The airbag is configured to inflate so as to cover the front of the occupant by flowing inflation gas into the airbag and protruding from the holder, and is configured to include an upper body restraint section that is disposed on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper body of the occupant,
The upper body restraint section has a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and is configured so that the head restraint surface is positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface.

In the occupant protection device of the present invention, the upper body restraint portion of the airbag is configured to have a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and when inflation of the airbag is complete, the head restraint surface is positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface. Therefore, when the occupant is held by the airbag that has completed inflation, the head of the occupant can be held by the head restraint surface first, and the inflated airbag can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest. As a result, in the occupant protection device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the inflated airbag from pressing against the chest, and the head can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface that is positioned nearby.

Therefore, the passenger protection device of the present invention can quickly restrain the passenger's head and gently receive the upper body.

In the passenger protection device of the present invention, the airbag is
A main body expansion portion;
a head protection section that is disposed near an upper end of the main inflation section so as to protrude rearward when inflation is complete, and that is in communication with the main inflation section and inflated by the flow of inflation gas therein through the main inflation section;
As a configuration including:
The rear surface of the head protection section when it is fully inflated constitutes a head restraint surface;
It is preferable that the chest restraining surface be formed by the lower rear surface of the head protection section when the main inflation section is fully inflated.

With this configuration of the occupant protection device, by disposing a head protection section that protrudes rearward on the rear side of the upper end of the main body expansion section, the head restraint surface formed by the rear surface of the head protection section when inflation is complete can be stably positioned rearward relative to the chest restraint surface formed by the rear surface of the main body expansion section when inflation is complete. Therefore, when the head restraint surface receives the occupant's head, the chest restraint surface can be appropriately prevented from pressing against the chest more than necessary.

In the passenger protection device having the above-mentioned configuration, the airbag is configured from a bag constituent body that is continuously inflated from the holding body side, and the upper end side of the bag constituent body is folded back as an overlapping region so as to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region, and the airbag is configured as follows:
The overlapping area constitutes a head protection section,
It is preferable that the overlapping region constitutes a main body expansion portion.

With such an occupant protection device, the head protection section (overlapping area) and the main body inflatable section (overlapped area) are constructed from an integrated bag structure, and the head protection section (overlapping area) can be folded and placed over the main body inflatable section (overlapped area), which makes the configuration simpler and easier to manufacture than when the head protection section is constructed as a separate section. In addition, with the occupant protection device of the above configuration, the head protection section can be made to have a substantially plate-like shape when fully inflated, and the rear surface when fully inflated, i.e., the head restraining surface, can be positioned widely in all directions, up, down, left and right, without partial protrusion, in front of the occupant's head. Therefore, even if the head position is slightly shifted left and right, the occupant's head can be accurately restrained by the head restraining surface.

Specifically, the head protection section may be configured so that the left and right edges when inflation is complete are connected to the main inflation section, and the front side when inflation is complete is connected to the rear side of the head protection section.

Furthermore, in the occupant protection device of the above configuration, it is preferable that the airbag is configured to have a supported surface on the underside when inflation is complete, which abuts against and is supported by the thighs of the occupant when the upper body restraint section receives the upper body of the occupant, and that the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set within the range of 90° to 150° when the airbag is inflated alone. With such an airbag configuration, the airbag can be inflated quickly so that the head restraint surface is brought closer to the head of the occupant than when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°. Therefore, the head of the occupant can be restrained more quickly by the head restraint surface. In addition, since the chest restraint surface can be brought closer to the occupant than when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, the chest of the occupant whose head is restrained by the head restraint surface can be protected quickly while suppressing the chest restraint surface from pressing more than necessary. Furthermore, in an airbag with the above configuration, the effective distance between the upper body restraint section (chest restraint surface) and the supported surface can be increased compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°. Therefore, when the upper body restraint section receives the upper body of the occupant with the supported surface supported by the thighs, the reaction force received from the thighs when the upper body of the occupant presses the upper body restraint section toward the supported surface and compresses the airbag can be increased, thereby improving the restraint performance of the occupant.

1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of the seat of FIG. 1 with the seat belt fastened; 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an airbag used in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment is inflated by itself; FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 4 . FIG. 5 is a rear view of the airbag of FIG. 4 . FIG. 5 is a plan view of the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. 4 arranged side by side. 1 is a front view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment; 1 is a side view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in the occupant protection device according to an embodiment; 1 is a side view showing a state in which an occupant is restrained by an airbag that has completed inflation in the occupant protection device according to the embodiment; FIG. 11 is a schematic perspective view showing an airbag according to another embodiment of the present invention in a state in which the airbag is inflated by itself. FIG. 12 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 11 . FIG. 12 is a rear view of the airbag of FIG. 11 . FIG. 12 is a plan view of the base materials constituting the airbag of FIG. 11 arranged side by side. 12 is a side view of a seat in a state where the airbag has completed inflation in the passenger protection device using the airbag shown in FIG. 11. FIG.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In this embodiment, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions of the seat 1, unless otherwise specified. As shown in Figures 1 to 3, the occupant protection device S of this embodiment is mounted on the seat 1 of a vehicle, and is configured to include a seat belt 7 that forms a holder for holding the airbag 25, the airbag 25, and an inflator 17 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 25. The seat 1 includes a backrest 2 and a seat portion 3.

In the embodiment, the seat belt 7 is mounted on the seat 1 and includes a belt body 8 for restraining the occupant MP seated on the seat 1, a tongue plate 12 attached to the belt body 8, and a buckle 13 for connecting the tongue plate 12. One end of the belt body 8 is fastened to a winding shaft of a retractor (not shown) disposed in the backrest 2, and the other end is fastened to an anchor member 14 (see Figs. 1 and 2) disposed to the left of the rear end 3b of the seat part 3 of the seat 1. In detail, the belt body 8 is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2. In the embodiment, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 as a retainer for retaining the airbag 25 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In detail, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 at the left edge 2a side of the backrest 2 so as to extend substantially along the up-down direction, as shown in Fig. 1. The belt main body 8 has the lap belt 10 and a shoulder belt 9 stored in the backrest 2, and when the occupant MP is seated, with the tongue plate 12 connected to the buckle 13, the lap belt 10 arranged substantially along the left-right direction between the anchor member 14 and the buckle 13 restrains the lower body MD (lumbar region MW) of the occupant MP, and the shoulder belt 9 extending from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2 and arranged diagonally to the buckle 13 restrains the upper body MU (from the shoulders MS to the chest MB) of the occupant MP (see Fig. 3). In this embodiment, when an occupant is seated, the lap belt 10, which is placed in front of the waist MW of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, and the cover 22, which will be described later, form a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag 25. In the seat belt 7, a retractor (not shown) that is placed in the backrest 2 has a pretensioner mechanism.

The inflator 17 is mounted on the seat 1, and in the embodiment, in detail, is disposed at a position lower than the seat surface 3a of the seat 1. In the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the inflator 17 includes an inflator body 18 (detailed illustration omitted) having a substantially cylindrical outer shape, and a pipe portion 19 extending from the inflator body 18 to supply inflation gas to the airbag 25. The pipe portion 19 extends from the inflator body 18 and is disposed so that its tip is positioned near the boundary between the seat portion 3 and the backrest portion 2 on the left side of the seat 1, and this tip is configured to be connected to a conduit portion 55 of the airbag 25, which will be described later, using a clamp 20 (see FIG. 9). In the embodiment, the inflator 17 is set to start operating later than the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7 in order to regulate the pulling out of the belt body 8 of the seat belt 7 due to the inflation of the airbag 25. Specifically, the inflator 17 is set to operate 5 ms after the seat belt 7 pretensioner mechanism is activated.

The airbag 25 is folded into a long shape and covered by the cover 22 while being held by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 as a holder. Specifically, the airbag 25 is placed in the area of the lap belt 10, covered by the cover 22, and overlapped on the upper surface side of the lap belt 10 when the seat belt 7 is worn (see FIG. 3). In other words, the airbag 25 is folded and stored in the gap between the lap belt 10 and the cover 22. In addition, in the unworn state as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 25 is placed on the back side (backrest 2 side) of the lap belt 10 exposed on the front surface of the backrest 2. The cover 22 is made of a flexible sheet body and is configured to be broken at a predetermined location when the airbag 25 is deployed and inflated, so that the bag body 26 of the airbag 25, which will be described later, can be protruded.

The airbag 25 is a bag-shaped member formed from a flexible sheet, and as shown in Figures 4 to 6, it includes a bag body 26, a conduit 55 that is connected to the inflator 17 to allow inflation gas to flow into the bag body 26, and an attachment 57 for connecting the bag body 26 to the lap belt 10.

In this embodiment, the bag body 26 includes a main body expansion section 27 and a head protection section 40 that is disposed on the upper end 27a side of the main body expansion section 27 when inflation is complete.

The main body inflation section 27 has an external shape at the time of completion of inflation, which is a generally triangular prism shape with the axial direction generally aligned in the left-right direction and wider in the front-rear direction toward the lower end, as shown in Figures 4 and 5. The main body inflation section 27 has an occupant-side wall section 35 that is disposed on the occupant MP side at the time of completion of inflation, a front wall section 29 that is disposed opposite the occupant-side wall section 35 in the front-rear direction, a lower wall section 30 that is disposed on the lower end side at the time of completion of inflation, and a left wall section 31 and a right wall section 32 that are disposed opposite each other in the left-right direction at the time of completion of inflation. The left wall section 31 and the right wall section 32 are formed with vent holes 37, 37 that can exhaust excess inflation gas that has flowed into the inside. As shown in Figure 5, the main body inflation section 27 is configured so that the intersection angle α between the lower wall section 30 (supported surface 52) and the occupant-side wall section 35 (chest restraint surface 50a) is set within the range of 90° to 150° when inflated alone. Specifically, the intersection angle α between the lower wall portion 30 and the occupant side wall portion 35 in a cross section generally along the front-rear direction when the seat is inflated alone (more specifically, the intersection angle α between the tangents of the lower wall portion 30 and the occupant side wall portion 35, see FIG. 5) is set to about 120°. If the intersection angle α is less than 90°, the separation distance between the head restraining surface 50b and the head MH at the completion of inflation is large, and the head MH cannot be restrained quickly. Conversely, if the intersection angle α exceeds 150°, there is a risk that the head MH of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1 will be excessively restrained by the head restraining surface 50b.

The main body inflatable portion 27 is configured such that the width dimension of the front-rear direction of the lower end side when fully inflated is set to a dimension such that the front end of the lower wall portion 30 (the front lower end 27b of the main body inflatable portion 27) is positioned slightly forward of the knees K of the occupant MP, and the width dimension of the rear end side when fully inflated is set to a dimension such that the upper end 27a (the upper end of the occupant side wall portion 35) is positioned in front of the head MH of the occupant MP (more specifically, approximately equal to the upper end of the headrest 4 disposed above the backrest portion 2 of the seat 1) (see FIG. 9). The main body inflatable portion 27 is also configured such that the width dimension of the left-right direction of the left-right side when fully inflated is smaller than the backrest portion 2 of the seat 1 and approximately equal to the upper body MU of the occupant MP so as to stably protect the upper body MU of the occupant MP (see FIG. 8).

The head protection section 40 is arranged to protrude rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflation section 27 when inflation is complete, and is a bag-like body separate from the main body inflation section 27. The head protection section 40 has a front wall section 41 and a rear wall section 42 that are approximately rectangular and wide on the left and right, and is configured to have an approximately rectangular plate shape when inflation is complete. It is connected to the main body inflation section 27 through a communication hole 45 formed on the front wall section 41 side. The communication hole 45 is composed of an opening 41a formed in the front wall section 41 of the head protection section 40 and an opening 35b formed corresponding to the upper end side of the occupant side wall section 35 of the main body inflation section 27, and two of them are arranged side by side on the left and right sides as approximately circular shapes. The head protection section 40 is connected to the main body inflation section 27 by connecting the periphery of the opening 41a that constitutes the communication hole 45 to the periphery of the opening 35b formed in the occupant side wall section 35 of the main body inflation section 27 over the entire circumference. The communication hole 45 is disposed below the center of the head protection part 40. When the head protection part 40 is fully inflated, the upper half of the head protection part 40 is positioned in front of the head MH of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, with the upper half of the head protection part 40 protruding above the upper end 27a of the main inflatable part 27. Specifically, the vertical width dimension when the head protection part 40 is fully inflated is set to a dimension such that the upper end 40a is positioned above the upper end 27a of the main inflatable part 27 and above the upper end of the headrest 4. The head protection part 40 is configured such that the left-right width dimension when the head protection part 40 is fully inflated is approximately equal to the left-right width dimension of the area on the upper end 27a side of the main inflatable part 27 (see FIG. 6).

In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflation portion 27 and the head protection portion 40 constitute an upper body restraint portion 50 capable of restraining the upper body MU of the occupant MP when inflation is complete. The upper body restraint portion 50 has a chest restraint surface 50a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface 50b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP. In the embodiment, the rear surface 42a of the rear wall portion 42 of the head protection portion 40 constitutes the head restraint surface 50b, and the rear surface 35a of the lower region of the head protection portion 40 in the occupant side wall portion 35 of the main body inflation portion 27 constitutes the chest restraint surface 50a. That is, in the bag body 26 of the embodiment, when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, the head restraint surface 50b is disposed in a position rearward of the chest restraint surface 50a (i.e., a position on the occupant MP side) (see FIG. 9). In this embodiment, the chest restraint surface 50a restrains the occupant MP from the abdomen MA to the chest MB.

In the bag body 26 of the embodiment, the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30 of the main body inflating portion 27 forms a supported surface 52 that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag body 26 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP when fully inflated. In detail, the supported surface 52 is formed from the lower surface 30a side of the area of the lower wall portion 30 that is forward of the conduit portion 55. The lower wall portion 30 is positioned with a slight forward downward inclination before receiving the occupant MP when the bag body 26 is fully inflated (see FIG. 9). The bag body 26 is connected to the conduit portion 55 through a communication hole (reference numeral omitted) at a portion on the rear lower end side at fully inflated (a portion on the rear lower end 27c side of the main body inflating portion 27, which is a portion on the rear end side of the lower wall portion 30) (see FIG. 5).

The conduit 55 extends leftward from the bag body 26, has an approximately cylindrical shape with an open tip 55a, and is connected to the pipe 19 of the inflator 17. The conduit 55 is arranged in the left-right direction so as to be aligned approximately along the lap belt 10 when the airbag 25 is fully inflated (see FIG. 9). The conduit 55 is connected at its tip 55a to the pipe 19 of the inflator 17 using the clamp 20 as described above. The attachment 57 for attaching the bag body 26 to the lap belt 10 is sewn to the underside of the conduit 55 as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5. The attachment 57 is approximately cylindrical with open ends so that the lap belt 10 can be inserted. The airbag 25 is connected to the lap belt 10 and held by the lap belt 10 by inserting the lap belt 10 through the attachment 57.

The airbag 25 of the embodiment is formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in the case of the embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, is composed of a main body panel 60 constituting the main body inflatable portion 27, a head protection panel 68 constituting the head protection portion 40, conduit panels 72, 73 constituting the conduit portion 55, and an attachment panel 75 constituting the attachment portion 57. The main body panel 60, head protection panel 68, conduit panels 72, 73, and attachment panel 75 are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

The main body panel 60 includes an occupant-side panel 61 and a front panel 65. The occupant-side panel 61 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and mainly constitutes the area from the occupant-side wall portion 35 to the lower wall portion 30. Specifically, the occupant-side panel 61 includes an upper portion 62 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35, and a lower portion 63 that mainly constitutes the lower wall portion 30, and has an outer shape in which the upper portion 62 and the lower portion 63 are connected by a portion that constitutes the rear lower end 27c side of the main body inflation portion 27. The upper portion 62 constitutes the occupant-side wall portion 35 and the rear area of the left wall portion 31 and the right wall portion 32. The lower portion 63 constitutes the lower wall portion 30 and the lower area of the left wall portion 31 and the right wall portion 32. The front panel 65 mainly constitutes the front wall 29 (specifically, the front area of the front wall 29 and the left and right walls 31 and 32) in the main body inflatable section 27, and is configured so that its outer shape when flattened out generally matches that of the lower and upper regions 63 and 62 in an open state in which the remaining connected edges (upper edge 62c, front edge 63c) of the lower left edge 62a and the rear left edge 63a, and the lower right edge 62b and the rear right edge 63b, located on the left and right sides of the connecting portion 61a connecting the upper and lower regions 62 and 63 in the occupant side panel 61, are spaced apart. The front panel 65 and the occupant side panel 61 are symmetrical to each other. The main body inflatable portion 27 is formed into a bag shape by connecting the outer peripheral edge 65a of the front panel 65 to the upper edge 62c and front edge 63c of the occupant side panel 61 in a state in which the lower left edge 62a and rear left edge 63a are connected to each other, and the lower right edge 62b and rear right edge 63b are connected to each other, as described above.

The head protection panel 68 comprises a front panel 69 and a rear panel 70. The front panel 69 and the rear panel 70 have the same external shape and are generally rectangular. The front panel 69 constitutes the front wall 41 of the head protection section 40, and the rear panel 70 constitutes the rear wall 42 of the head protection section 40. The head protection section 40 is made bag-shaped by joining the outer peripheries 69a, 70a of the front panel 69 and the rear panel 70 together.

The two conduit section panels 72, 73 have the same external shape and respectively constitute the upper and lower areas of the conduit section 55. The mounting section panel 75 has a roughly rectangular external shape and is folded in half to join the edges on the short side to form the mounting section 57.

In the embodiment of the passenger protection device S, when the inflator 17 is activated while the passenger MP is seated in the seat 1 mounted in the vehicle with the seat belt 7 fastened, the inflation gas discharged from the inflator 17 flows into the bag body 26 via the conduit 55, and the bag body 26 breaks the cover 22 and protrudes forward and upward from the lap belt 10 as a retainer, completing inflation as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 3 and in FIGS. 8 and 9.

In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the upper body restraint section 50 of the airbag 25 is configured to have a chest restraint surface 50a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, and a head restraint surface 50b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP, and when the airbag 25 is fully inflated, the head restraint surface 50b is disposed closer to the occupant MP (rearward) than the chest restraint surface 50a. Therefore, when the airbag 25 that has fully inflated receives the occupant MP, the head MH of the occupant MP can be received first by the head restraint surface 50b (see FIG. 10), and the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest MB. As a result, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the inflated airbag 25 can be prevented from pressing the chest MB, and the head MH can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface 50b disposed nearby.

Therefore, the occupant protection device S of this embodiment can quickly restrain the head MH of the occupant MP and also gently receive the upper body MU.

In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the bag body 26 of the airbag 25 is configured to include a main body inflatable portion 27 and a head protection portion 40 that protrudes rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27 when inflation is complete, and the rear surface 42a of the head protection portion 40 when inflation is complete constitutes the head restraining surface 50b, and the lower rear surface 35a of the head protection portion 40 when inflation is complete constitutes the chest restraining surface 50a in the main body inflatable portion 27. That is, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, by disposing the head protection portion 40 that protrudes rearward on the rear side of the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable portion 27, the head restraining surface 50b formed by the rear surface 42a of the head protection portion 40 when inflation is complete can be stably positioned rearward of the chest restraining surface 50a formed by the rear surface 35a of the main body inflatable portion 27 when inflation is complete. Therefore, when the head restraint surface 50b receives the head MH of the occupant MP, the chest restraint surface 50a can be prevented from pressing the chest MB more than necessary.

Furthermore, in the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, when the main body inflatable portion 27 is inflated by itself, the intersection angle α between the chest restraining surface 50a (occupant side wall portion 35) and the supported surface 52 (lower wall portion 30) is set within the range of 90° to 150° (approximately 120° in the case of the embodiment). Therefore, compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraining surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, the airbag 25 can be inflated quickly to bring the head restraining surface 50b closer to the head MH of the occupant MP, and the head MH of the occupant MP can be restrained by the head restraining surface 50b more quickly. In addition, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the chest restraint surface 50a can also be brought closer to the occupant MP compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°, so that the chest MB of the occupant MP whose head MH is restrained by the head restraint surface 50b can be quickly protected while preventing the chest restraint surface 50a from pressing more than necessary. Furthermore, in the airbag 25 of the embodiment, the effective distance between the upper body restraint section 50 (chest restraint surface 50a) and the supported surface 52 can be increased compared to when the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set to less than 90°. Therefore, when the upper body restraint section 50 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP with the supported surface 52 supported by the thighs MT, when the upper body MU of the occupant MP presses the upper body restraint section 50 toward the supported surface 52 while compressing the airbag 25, the reaction force received from the thighs MT can be increased, thereby improving the restraint performance of the occupant MP.

Next, an airbag 80 according to another embodiment of the present invention will be described. As shown in FIGS. 11 to 13, the airbag 80 comprises a bag body 81, a conduit section 55A that is connected to an inflator 17 to allow inflation gas to flow into the bag body 81, and an attachment section 57A for connecting the bag body 81 to a lap belt 10. In the airbag 80, the components other than the bag body 81 (i.e., the conduit section 55A and the attachment section 57A) are the same as the conduit section 55 and the attachment section 57 in the airbag 25 described above, so the same reference numerals are designated with the suffix "A" and detailed description will be omitted.

In the embodiment, the bag body 81 includes a main body inflatable portion 27A and a head protection portion 85 disposed on the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable portion 27A when inflation is complete. In this airbag 80, the bag body 81 is composed of a bag component 83 that inflates continuously from the lap belt 10 side as a retainer, i.e., the lower end side (see Figs. 12 and 15), and the upper end side of this bag component 83 is folded back and arranged to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region 83b as an overlapping region 83a. In the bag body of the embodiment, the overlapping region 83a of the bag component 83 constitutes the head protection portion 85, and the overlapped region 83b constitutes the main body inflatable portion 27A.

The main body inflatable portion 27A, which is formed from the overlapping region 83b of the bag structure 83, has substantially the same configuration as the main body inflatable portion 27 in the airbag 25 described above, except that the upper end 27a side is connected to the upper end 85a side of the head protection portion 85 over substantially the entire left and right area. Therefore, the same reference numerals are given the suffix "A" and detailed description is omitted.

The head protection section 85 is arranged to protrude rearward near the upper end 27a of the main inflatable section 27A when inflation is complete, and is composed of the overlapping region 83a of the bag component 83 as described above. That is, the head protection section 85 is configured such that the upper end 85a side is connected to the upper end 27a side of the main inflatable section 27A over the entire left and right area by folding back the upper end side region of the bag component 83. The head protection section 85 is configured such that the upper end 85a is positioned approximately equal to the upper end 27a of the main inflatable section 27A and approximately equal to the upper end of the headrest 4 (see FIG. 15). The head protection portion 85 has a generally trapezoidal front wall portion 86 and a rear wall portion 87 that are slightly wider in the left-right direction toward the lower end, and is configured to have a generally trapezoidal shape when fully inflated (see FIG. 13), with the left-right width dimension at the time of full inflation being generally equal to the left-right width dimension of the region on the upper end 27a side of the main body inflatable portion 27A. The front side of the head protection portion 85 at the time of full inflation is connected to the rear side of the main body inflatable portion 27A by a seam portion 90 formed to join the front wall portion 86 to the occupant-side wall portion 35A of the main body inflatable portion 27A, and the left edge 85b and right edge 85c at the time of full inflation are connected to the main body inflatable portion 27A by tethers 92L, 92R. As shown in FIG. 12, the seam 90 is formed by directly joining (stitching) the front wall 86 and the occupant-side wall 35A, and is an elliptical shape with a wider width on the left-right side, and is formed at a position below the center of the head protection part 85 from the top to the bottom (see FIG. 13). The tethers 92L, 92R are formed as strips made of flexible sheets separate from the bag body 81, and are arranged approximately along the front-to-rear direction when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, with the lower ends of the left edge 85b and the right edge 85c of the head protection part 85 connected to the left edge 27d and the right edge 27e of the main body inflatable part 27A. In this embodiment, the seam 90 and the tethers 92L, 92R are arranged so that their positions on the top-to-bottom side are approximately the same (see FIG. 13).

In this bag body 81 as well, the occupant side wall portion 35A of the main body inflating portion 27A and the head protection portion 85 constitute an upper body restraint portion 95 capable of restraining the upper body MU of the occupant MP when inflation is complete. The upper body restraint portion 95 has a chest restraint surface 95a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface 95b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP. In this bag body 81 as well, the rear surface 87a of the rear wall portion 87 of the head protection portion 85 constitutes the head restraint surface 95b, and the rear surface 35a of the lower region of the head protection portion 85 in the occupant side wall portion 35A of the main body inflating portion 27A constitutes the chest restraint surface 95a. That is, in the bag body 81 as well, when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, the head restraining surface 95b is positioned rearward of the chest restraining surface 95a (i.e., on the side of the occupant MP) (see FIG. 15). The chest restraining surface 95a restrains the occupant MP from the abdomen MA to the chest MB. Furthermore, in the bag body 81 as well, the lower surface 30a of the lower wall portion 30A of the main body inflating portion 27A forms a supported surface 52A that abuts against and is supported by the thighs MT of the occupant MP when the bag body 81 receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP when fully inflated.

This airbag 80 is also formed by joining the peripheral edges of a base fabric of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 14, it is composed of a component panel 100 that constitutes the bag body 81 (bag component 83), conduit panels 72A, 73A that constitute the conduit section 55A, attachment panel 75A that constitutes the attachment section 57A, and tethers 92L, 92R.

The structural body panel 100 includes an occupant-side panel 101 and a front panel 65. The occupant-side panel 101 is disposed on the occupant MP side when inflation is complete, and constitutes the portion of the main body inflation section 27A that mainly extends from the occupant-side wall section 35A to the lower wall section 30A, and the front wall section 86 of the head protection section 85. Specifically, the occupant-side panel 101 is configured to connect the upper section 102 that mainly constitutes the occupant-side wall section 35A, the lower section 103 that mainly constitutes the lower wall section 30A, and the head protection section 104 that constitutes the front wall section 86 of the head protection section 85 in the main body inflation section 27A, and the upper section 102 and the lower section 103 have substantially the same shape as the upper section 62 and the lower section 63 of the occupant-side panel 61 in the airbag 25 described above. The front panel 106 is configured to connect a front wall component 107 which mainly constitutes the front wall 29A (specifically, the front area of the front wall 29A and the left wall 31A and the right wall 32A) in the main inflation portion 27A to a head protecting portion 108 which constitutes the rear wall 87 in the head protection portion 85, and the front wall component 107 has approximately the same shape as the front panel 69 in the airbag 25 described above. The bag structure 83 is formed into a bag shape by connecting the outer periphery 107a, 108a of the front wall structure 107 and head protection area 108 of the front panel 106 to the upper edge 102c, front edge 103c to the outer periphery 104a of the head protection area 104 of the occupant side panel 101 in a state where the lower left edge 102a, rear left edge 103a, and the lower right edge 102b, rear right edge 103b are connected to each other, respectively.

Even in an occupant protection device using an airbag 80 of such a configuration, the upper body restraint portion 95 of the airbag 80 is configured to have a chest restraint surface 95a capable of restraining at least the chest MB of the occupant MP when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, and a head restraint surface 95b capable of restraining the head MH of the occupant MP, and when the airbag 80 is fully inflated, the head restraint surface 95b is disposed closer to the occupant MP than the chest restraint surface 95a. Therefore, when the airbag 80 that has fully inflated receives the occupant MP, the head MH of the occupant MP can be received first by the head restraint surface 95b, and the inflated airbag 80 can be prevented from immediately coming into contact with the chest MB. As a result, even in an occupant protection device using an airbag 80 of the above configuration, the inflated airbag 80 can be prevented from pressing the chest MB, and the head MH can be quickly restrained by the head restraint surface 95b disposed nearby.

In the airbag 80 configured as described above, the bag body 26 is also configured to include a main body inflatable portion 27A and a head protection portion 85 that protrudes rearward near the upper end 27a of the main body inflatable portion 27A when inflation is complete. The rear surface 87a of the head protection portion 85 when inflation is complete constitutes the head restraining surface 95b, and the lower rear surface 35a of the head protection portion 85 when inflation is complete constitutes the chest restraining surface 95a. This allows the head restraining surface 95b to be stably positioned rearward of the chest restraining surface 95a. Therefore, when the head MH of the occupant MP is received by the head restraining surface 95b, the chest restraining surface 95a can be appropriately prevented from pressing the chest MB more than necessary.

In addition, in the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the bag body 81 is configured from the bag component 83 in which the head protection section 85 (overlapping region 83a) and the main body inflatable section 27A (overlapped region 83b) are integrated, so that the head protection section 85 can be folded and overlapped with respect to the main body inflatable section 27A, which is a simpler configuration and easier to manufacture than the case in which the head protection section 40 is configured as a separate body from the main body inflatable section 27 as in the airbag 25 described above. In addition, in the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the head protection section 85 can be made to have a substantially plate-like shape when fully inflated, and the rear surface 87a at the time of full inflation, i.e., the head restraining surface 95b, can be positioned widely in all directions, up, down, left and right, without partial protrusion, in front of the head MH of the occupant MP. Therefore, even if the position of the head MH is slightly shifted left and right, the head MH of the occupant MP can be accurately restrained by the head restraining surface 95b. Incidentally, in the airbag 25 described above, the head protection section 40 is connected to the main body inflation section 27 by joining the front wall section 41 and the occupant side wall section 35 of the main body inflation section 27 around the periphery of the communication hole 45. This makes it easy to inflate thickly and protect the head MH of the occupant MP, but when inflation is complete, the rear wall section 42 is positioned with a large curve so that its center is positioned rearward.

In the airbag 80 having the above configuration, the left edge 85b and the right edge 85c of the head protection section 85 at the time of completion of inflation are connected to the main body inflation section 27A by the tethers 92L and 92R, and the front side at the time of completion of inflation is connected to the rear side of the main body inflation section 27A by the seam 90, so that the folded state with respect to the main body inflation section 27A is maintained. The seam and the tether are only examples of the means for maintaining such a folded state, and other means (for example, adhesion by adhesive or the like) may be used. Also, the configuration may be such that only one of the seam and the tether is provided. From the viewpoint of suppressing a large curvature of the rear wall section 87 at the time of completion of inflation, it is preferable to connect both the left and right edges of the head protection section to the main body inflation section.

In the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 is used as a holder for holding the airbag 25, 80, but the holder for holding the airbag is not limited to the lap belt. For example, a holder separate from the seat belt may be placed in front of the waist of the passenger seated in the seat, and the airbag may be held by this holder. In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 holds the airbag 25, 80, but the inflator 17 operates with a delay (about 5 ms) from the operation of the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7, so that the airbag 25 can be inflated while the seat belt 7 keeps the passenger MP stably seated on the seat 1, and the airbag 25 and the seat belt 7 can stably protect the passenger MP.

In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the seat belt 7 and the inflator 17 are configured to be mounted on the seat 1. Therefore, even when the seat 1 is slid significantly back and forth or rotated and moved relative to the vehicle, the passenger MP seated on the seat 1 can be adequately protected by the airbag 25. Of course, the passenger protection device of the present invention is not limited to a seat configured in this way, and can also be mounted on a type of seat that restrains the passenger with a seat belt having a retractor on the vehicle body side. The inflator may also be configured to be attached to the vehicle body side.

1...seat, 7...seat belt, 10...lap belt (retaining body), 17...inflator, 25, 80...airbag, 27, 27A...main body inflatable portion, 30, 30A...lower wall portion, 30a...lower surface, 35, 35A...occupant side wall portion, 35a...rear surface, 40, 85...head protection portion, 42, 87...rear wall portion, 42a, 87a...rear surface, 50, 95...upper body restraint portion, 50a, 95a...chest restraint surface, 50b, 95b...head restraint surface, 52, 52A...supported surface, 83...bag structure, 83a...overlapped region, 83b...overlapped region, MP...occupant, MU...upper body, MH...head, MB...chest, MT...thighs, S...occupant protection device.

Claims (4)

An occupant protection device for protecting an occupant seated in a seat,
an airbag formed of a flexible sheet body in a bag shape and folded and stored;
a holder that stores and holds the folded airbag and is disposed in front of a waist of an occupant seated in the seat;
an inflator capable of supplying inflation gas to the airbag;
The configuration includes:
The airbag is configured to inflate so as to cover a front of the occupant by flowing inflation gas thereinto and protruding from the holder, and is configured to include an upper body restraint section that is disposed on the occupant side when inflation is complete and is capable of restraining the upper body of the occupant,
the upper body restraint portion has a chest restraint surface capable of restraining at least the chest of the occupant when inflation is complete, and a head restraint surface capable of restraining the head of the occupant, and is configured to be positioned closer to the occupant than the chest restraint surface ,
The airbag,
A main body expansion portion;
a head protection section that is disposed near an upper end of the main inflation section so as to protrude rearward when inflation is complete, and that is in communication with the main inflation section and inflated by the flow of inflation gas therein through the main inflation section;
The configuration includes:
A rear surface of the head protection portion when the inflation is completed constitutes the head restraint surface,
In the main inflation portion, a rear surface of a lower side of the head protection portion at the time of completion of inflation constitutes the chest restraint surface,
The airbag is configured to be made of a bag constituent that is continuously inflated from the holding body side, and a portion of an upper end side of the bag constituent is folded back as an overlapping region so as to overlap the rear side of the other overlapped region, and is configured to be arranged,
The overlapping region constitutes the head protection portion,
An occupant protection device , wherein the overlapping region constitutes the main body inflatable portion . 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1 , wherein the head protection portion has left and right edge sides connected to the main inflation portion when fully inflated. 2. The passenger protection device according to claim 1 , wherein a front side of the head protection portion when fully inflated is connected to a rear side of the main inflatable portion. The occupant protection device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the airbag is configured to have a supported surface on its underside when inflation is complete, which abuts against and is supported by the thighs of the occupant when the upper body restraint section receives the upper body of the occupant, and is configured so that when the airbag is inflated alone , the intersection angle between the chest restraint surface and the supported surface is set within the range of 90° to 150°.

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