JPH0417811B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an exhaust port arrangement structure for an airbag that is inflated by the operation of a gas generator to protect occupants from impact when a vehicle or the like collides.

(Prior Art) It is known that there is an air bag device in which an air bag is folded and stored inside the center of a steering wheel, and when an impact occurs, fluid is supplied from a fluid supply device into the air bag to inflate the air bag. However, in such an airbag device,
Normally, the air bag inflates at the time of a collision, and as the occupant moves forward, the air inside the air bag is discharged.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) Providing the exhaust port as described above is effective in mitigating the impact when the occupant hits the airbag, but the exhaust port may deform as the airbag expands. Or it could become blocked, making it impossible to secure a constant exhaust volume.

For example, if the exhaust port is provided on the side of the airbag, the exhaust port on the door side will come into pressure contact with the door, blocking the exhaust port and preventing effective air discharge. There were cases where the exhaust port was blocked by the user's own body, making it impossible to secure sufficient exhaust volume, as described above. In addition, there was a problem in that airbag fluid, such as nitrogen gas, was discharged directly towards the driver.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an exhaust port of the air bag in the air bag device at a position that becomes inside the steering wheel when inflated and is not blocked by the cover of the air bag device when it is expanded. was formed.

(Example) Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Figure 1 is a front view showing the steering wheel housing the air bag device, and Figure 2 is the same as Figure 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a back view of the steering wheel in the airbag inflated state, FIG. 5 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a state in which the airbag device using the present invention is used. FIG.

An air bag device 1 provided on a steering wheel A houses a gas generator 3 supported by a retainer 2, an air bag 6 having a gas suction port attached to the retainer 2 via a ring 4 and a rivet 5, and these. It consists of a cover 7.

In this embodiment, the cover 7 is composed of a main body 71 and upper and lower cover pieces 72 and 73, and when the air bag 6 is inflated, the cover pieces 72 and 73 are expanded vertically and the air bag 6 is inflated. Both the main body portion 71 and the cover pieces 72, 73 are made of synthetic resin.

The main body part 71 has a frame shape consisting of upper and lower sides 71a and 71b and left and right sides 71c and 71d, and horns 74 are incorporated in the four corners of the main body part 71. Further, the cover pieces 72 and 73 have left and right side portions 7
1c, 71d via broken parts 75, 76, and connected to the upper and lower sides 71a, 71b via connecting parts 76, 76, both cover pieces 72, 73 are connected to broken parts 7
7.

When a car crashes, if the impact is more than enough to cause damage to the occupants, the gas generator 3 operates to release fluid, such as high-pressure gas, into the air bag 6.
The gas pressure inside the air bag 6 causes the breakage portions 75, 75, 77 to break, and the cover pieces 72, 73 unfold in a hinge shape around the connection portions 76, 76 as shown in FIG. The air bag 6 is quickly inflated.

The air bag 6 is provided with an exhaust port 61 for releasing air after inflation, and in this embodiment, the exhaust ports 61, 61 are located inside the steering wheel A as shown in FIG. And, it is located on the outside of the unfolded cover pieces 72 and 73. This means that the inside of steering wheel A is
This is the part where the air bag material stretches the most when inflated, and the expanded cover piece 72,
This is because the exhaust ports 61, 61 are not blocked by the exhaust ports 73, and a constant amount of exhaust is always ensured. In addition, by providing the exhaust port 61 at the above position, the air within the air bag 6 is prevented from being discharged toward the occupant.

The exhaust port 61 is located in the cover pieces 72, 7.
For example, if the cover pieces 72, 73 are unfolded to the left and right, it will be inside the steering wheel A and above or below the unfolded cover pieces 72, 73. .

When a vehicle collision occurs, the cover pieces 72 and 73 are expanded as shown in FIG. 6, and the air bag 6 is inflated in front of the occupant's chest, causing the occupant to collide with the air bag 6 due to the reaction of the collision. In this case, the air bag 6 becomes compressed due to the collision with the occupant, and the reaction force tries to push the occupant back into the seat B etc.
At this time, the compressed air of the air bag 6 is discharged little by little from the exhaust ports 61, 61, so that the occupant does not rebound, and therefore no secondary impact is applied to the occupant.

(Effects of the invention) As described above, according to the present invention, the exhaust port of the air bag in the air bag device is formed at a position that is inside the steering wheel when inflated and is not blocked by the cover piece of the air bag device that is deployed. This prevents recoil from occurring to the occupants due to the air bag that expands during a collision, and also maintains a constant exhaust volume without deforming the exhaust port or blocking it with a cover piece due to an occupant's collision. It can be secured and the air can be discharged without directing it to the occupants.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a front view showing the steering wheel housing the air bag device, and Figure 2 is the same as Figure 1.
3 is a cross-sectional view of FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a back view of the steering wheel in the airbag inflated state, FIG. 5 is a perspective view thereof, and FIG. 6 is a state in which the airbag device using the present invention is used. FIG. In the figure, 6 is an air bag device, 61 is an exhaust port, and 7 is an air bag device.
is a cover, 72 and 73 are cover pieces, and A is a steering wheel.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An airbag that is provided on a steering wheel of a vehicle and is covered with a cover having a cover piece that can be deployed in a stored state, and is expanded by fluid flowing into the vehicle and is located between the steering wheel and a passenger. The air bag exhaust port arrangement structure is characterized in that the exhaust port is formed at a position that is inside the steering wheel when inflated and is not blocked by the expanded cover.