U.S. patent application number 09/797915 was filed with the patent office on 2001-10-04 for air bag device for passenger's seat.
Invention is credited to Yokota, Keishi.
Application Number | 20010026063 09/797915 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 18584891 |
Filed Date | 2001-10-04 |
United States Patent
Application |
20010026063 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Yokota, Keishi |
October 4, 2001 |
Air bag device for passenger's seat
Abstract
An air bag is fixed to a base plate, and a lid is integrally
formed in an instrument panel. A frame portion of the lid has hook
holes therein. An assembly including the folded air bag is
installed to the instrument panel by engaging the hooks with the
hook holes. In the air bag device, all or most of components can be
used in common in various models with different layout requirements
of the space behind instrument panel.
Inventors: |
Yokota, Keishi; (Tokyo,
JP) |
Correspondence
Address: |
KENESAKA AND TAKEUCHI
1423 Powhatan Street
Alexandria
VA
22314
US
|
Family ID: |
18584891 |
Appl. No.: |
09/797915 |
Filed: |
March 5, 2001 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
280/732 ;
280/728.2 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60R 21/2165 20130101;
B60R 21/205 20130101; B60R 21/2171 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
280/732 ;
280/728.2 |
International
Class: |
B60R 021/16 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 9, 2000 |
JP |
2000-065345 |
Claims
What is claimed is:
1. An air bag device for a passenger's seat, comprising: a folded
air bag, a base plate fixed to the folded air bag and disposed only
behind the air bag, and an inflator fixed to the base plate to
provide gas to the air bag.
2. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 1,
further comprising a surrounding member for surrounding a periphery
of the folded air bag, said surrounding member being formed
separately from the base plate and attached to the base plate.
3. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 2,
wherein the surrounding member is attached to the base plate to be
movable relative to the base plate in a depth direction.
4. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 3,
further comprising a resin member attached to the surrounding
member to support the surrounding member to the base plate so that
when the surrounding member moves relative to the base plate in the
depth direction, the resin member is compressed by the surrounding
member and plastically deformed to absorb an impact.
5. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 4,
wherein said base plate includes a plurality of hooks extending
laterally outwardly therefrom, and said surrounding member includes
a plurality of elongated holes extending in the depth direction and
receiving the hooks therein, said resin member being disposed to
partly cover the elongated holes at an upper side of the
surrounding member.
6. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 1,
further comprising an instrument panel for covering a front of the
air bag, and a frame portion integrally formed with the instrument
panel to surround a periphery of the air bag.
7. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 6,
wherein said base plate includes a plurality of hooks extending
laterally outwardly therefrom, and said frame portion includes a
plurality of holes for receiving the hooks therein.
8. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 2,
further comprising an instrument panel for covering a front of the
air bag, said surrounding member being connected to the instrument
panel.
9. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 8,
further comprising a frame portion having holes and integrally
formed in the instrument panel and disposed to partly surround the
folded air bag near the instrument panel, said surrounding member
having hooks engaging the holes of the frame portion to be
connected to the frame portion.
10. An air bag device for a passenger's seat comprising: a folded
air bag, a base plate fixed to the air bag and disposed only behind
the air bag, an inflator fixed to the base plate, and an instrument
panel covering a front of the air bag and having tear lines which
allow the air bag to deploy into a vehicle cabin when the air bag
is inflated by the inflator and presses a back of the instrument
panel.
11. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 10,
further comprising a surrounding member for surrounding a periphery
of the folded air bag, said surrounding member being formed
separately from the base plate and attached to the base plate.
12. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 11,
wherein the surrounding member is attached to the base plate to be
movable relative to the base plate in a depth direction.
13. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 12,
further comprising a resin member attached to the surrounding
member to support the surrounding member to the base plate so that
when the surrounding member moves relative to the base plate in the
depth direction, the resin member is compressed by the surrounding
member and plastically deformed to absorb an impact.
14. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 13,
wherein said base plate includes a plurality of hooks extending
laterally outwardly therefrom, and said surrounding member includes
a plurality of elongated holes extending in the depth direction and
receiving the hooks therein, said resin member being disposed to
partly cover the elongated holes at an upper side of the
surrounding member.
15. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 11,
wherein said surrounding member is connected to the instrument
panel.
16. An air bag device for a passenger's seat according to claim 15,
further comprising a frame portion having holes and integrally
formed in the instrument panel and disposed to partly surround the
folded air bag near the instrument panel, said surrounding member
having hooks engaging the holes of the frame portion to be
connected to the frame portion.
Description
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
[0001] The present invention relates to an air bag device for
protecting a front seat passenger in a vehicle.
[0002] In a conventional air bag device for protecting a front seat
passenger, an air bag is accommodated in a container-like retainer
in a folded state and the front opening of the retainer is covered
with a lid. An inflator (gas generator) for inflating the air bag
is disposed at the bottom of the retainer. The lid is formed of a
covering member separate from an instrument panel or formed of a
certain area of the instrument panel defined by tear lines.
[0003] The conventional air bag device for protecting the front
seat passenger includes the container-like retainer, and it is,
therefore, necessary to design the retainer to have specific shape
and size so as to meet the layout requirements (size and shape) of
a space behind the instrument panel.
[0004] The object of the present invention is to provide an air bag
device, in which all or most of the components can be used in
common in various vehicle models with different layout requirements
of the space behind the instrument panel.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] An air bag device of the present invention comprises an air
bag in a folded state, a base plate to which the air bag is fixed,
and an inflator fixed to the base plate, wherein the base plate is
arranged only behind the air bag.
[0006] Further, an air bag device of the present invention
comprises an air bag in a folded state, a base plate to which the
air bag is fixed, and an inflator fixed to the base plate. The
front of the air bag is covered by an instrument panel, and the
instrument panel has tear lines which allow the deployment of the
air bag into a vehicle cabin when the air bag is inflated with gas
spouted out from the inflator and thus presses the back of the
instrument panel, wherein the base plate is arranged only behind
the air bag.
[0007] In the air bag device for protecting the front seat
passenger, the base plate which is arranged only behind the air bag
is used instead of the conventional container-like retainer. The
air bag device can be installed in various vehicles in case only
air bag-fixing portions are made similar, regardless of the profile
or configuration of the instrument panel.
[0008] When the front of the air bag of the device for the
passenger's seat is covered by the instrument panel, the instrument
panel has tear lines formed in a portion in front of the air bag
and can open just like a door because of rupture of the tear
lines.
[0009] According to one embodiment of the present invention, a
frame portion integrally formed in the instrument panel surrounds
the periphery of the air bag. In this case, the frame portion may
be long to surround the entire periphery of the air bag, or may be
short to surround just a portion of the periphery of the air bag
near the instrument panel.
[0010] According to the present invention, a surrounding member for
surrounding the periphery of the air bag, which is provided
separately from the base plate or from the instrument panel may be
attached to the base plate.
[0011] This surrounding member which has a shape and a size meeting
the layout requirements of the space behind the instrument panel
may be employed. That is, the base plate can be common to most of
the models of the vehicles if only the surrounding member is
designed to correspond to the model. In this manner, the air bag
device for the passenger's seat can be installed in most of the
models of the vehicles.
[0012] The surrounding member may be movable relative to the base
plate in the depth direction, thereby more effectively absorbing
impact on the instrument panel when an occupant collides with the
instrument panel. In this case, the surrounding member may be
supported on the base plate by a resin member, and the resin member
may be compressed by the surrounding member and thus plastically
deformed when the surrounding member moves relative to the base
plate in the depth direction. This structure achieves further more
effective absorption of impact on the instrument panel.
[0013] The surrounding member may be hooked to the instrument
panel. For example, when a relatively short frame portion is
disposed on the instrument panel, hooks provided on the surrounding
member are engaged with hook holes formed in the frame portion.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0014] FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an air bag device
according to an embodiment;
[0015] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the structure behind an
instrument panel;
[0016] FIG. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the air bag device
of the embodiment;
[0017] FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the relation between
the air bag and a bag-fixing ring;
[0018] FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the relation among the
air bag, the bag-fixing ring and a base plate;
[0019] FIG. 6 is a perspective view showing the relation between an
inflator and the base plate;
[0020] FIG. 7 is a perspective view of an assembly;
[0021] FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing the relation between the
assembly and the instrument panel;
[0022] FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the air bag device for the
passenger's seat according to the embodiment in the inflated
state;
[0023] FIG. 10(a) is a sectional view showing a state during an
installation of an air bag device according to another embodiment,
and FIG. 10(b) is a sectional view showing a completely installed
state;
[0024] FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of an air bag device
according to a different embodiment;
[0025] FIG. 12 is a sectional view of the air bag device of FIG.
11;
[0026] FIG. 13 is a sectional view showing the state in which an
assembly shown in FIG. 12 is installed to the instrument panel;
[0027] FIG. 14 is a perspective view showing a resin plate and
surrounding members;
[0028] FIG. 15 is a perspective view showing the resin plate and
the surrounding members in a state that impact is applied;
[0029] FIG. 16 is a sectional view showing a further different
embodiment; and
[0030] FIG. 17 is a perspective view showing a frame portion shown
in FIG. 16 taken from the back of the instrument panel.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS
[0031] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention are
described. FIG. 1 is a vertical sectional view of an air bag device
according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a
perspective view taken from the back of an instrument panel, FIG. 3
is an exploded perspective view of the air bag device, FIG. 4 and
FIG. 5 are perspective views showing the structure of fixing the
air bag to a base plate, FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view
showing the relation between the air bag and an inflator, FIG. 7 is
a perspective view of an assembly, FIG. 8 is a view for explaining
the installation of the assembly, and FIG. 9 is a sectional view of
the air bag device for a passenger's seat in operation.
[0032] In this air bag device for a passenger's seat, an air bag 12
is fixed to a base plate 10 by a bag-fixing ring 14, and the front
of the air bag 12 (upper side in FIG. 1) is covered by an
instrument panel 20.
[0033] The instrument panel 20 comprises an outer layer 22, a core
layer 26, and a foam layer 24 interposed between the outer layer 22
and the core layer 26. The instrument panel 20 includes a resin lid
28 for covering the front of the air bag 12, and the resin lid 28
is integrally formed in the instrument panel by insert molding. The
resin lid 28 has a frame portion 30 surrounding the side periphery
of the air bag 12. The frame portion 30 is formed with hook holes
32 into which hooks 34 formed on the sides of the base plate 10 are
inserted. The instrument panel 20 has tear lines 36 formed therein.
The resin lid 28 also has tear lines 38 formed in portions
corresponding to the tear lines 36.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 3, the base plate 10 has a downward
semi-cylindrical portion 40 formed in a central portion thereof,
and upward semi-cylindrical portions 42 on both sides of the
downward semi-cylindrical portion 40 in the axial direction.
Flanges 44 are disposed on both sides of the base plate 10 to
extend along these semi-cylindrical portions 40, 42. A plurality of
hooks 34, each being formed in an L-like claw shape, is disposed at
intervals along the side of each flange 44. The flanges 44 have
bolt-through holes 46 therein.
[0035] The bag-fixing ring 14 has a configuration similar to that
of the base plate 10, that is, a downward semi-cylindrical portion
50 formed in a central portion thereof, and upward semi-cylindrical
portions 52 on both sides of the downward semi-cylindrical portion
50 in the axial direction. Flanges 54 are disposed on both sides of
the bag-fixing ring 14 to extend along these semi-cylindrical
portions 50, 52. The bag-fixing ring 14 has bolts 56.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 4 and FIG. 5, the air bag 12 has a pair of
slits 60 therein parallel to each other, and bolt-through holes 62
therein near the slits 60. The bag-fixing ring 14 is inserted into
the air bag 12 through one of the slits 60. The bag-fixing ring 14
is disposed in such a manner that the downward semi-cylindrical
portion 50 presses an area 61 between the slits 60.
[0037] The base plate 10 is disposed to face the air bag 12 in such
a manner that the base plate 10 is superposed on the bag-fixing
ring 14. As the base plate 10 is disposed to face the bag-fixing
ring 14, the bolts 56 are inserted into the bolt-through holes 46
of the base plate 10 through the bolt-through holes 62. Then, nuts
64 are screwed onto the bolts 56, whereby the air bag 12 is
securely clamped between the bag-fixing ring 14 and the base plate
10. In this state, the area 61 between the slits 60 is pressed by
the downward semi-cylindrical portion 50 of the bag-fixing ring 14
while the areas outside the slits 60 are pressed by the upward
semi-cylindrical portions 42 of the base plate 10, whereby the
slits 60 are shaped to be circular openings as shown in FIG. 6.
[0038] By inserting an inflator 16 into one of the slits 60, the
air bag 12, the base plate 10, the bag-fixing ring 14 and the
inflator 16 are assembled as an assembly 70 as shown in FIG. 7.
[0039] As shown in FIG. 8, the hooks 34 on one side of the assembly
70 assembled as shown in FIG. 7 are first engaged with the hook
holes 32 on one side of the frame portion 30, and then the other
side of the assembly 70 is pushed into the other side of the frame
portion 30. Accordingly, the hooks 34 on the other side of the
assembly 70 are engaged with the hook holes 32 on the other side of
the frame portion 30, so that the assembly 70 is connected to the
instrument panel 20. After that, the base plate 10 is fixed to a
bracket 66 extending from a vehicle member 68 by bolts 69. In this
manner, the installation of the air bag device is completed.
[0040] In the air bag device for the passenger's seat installed
behind the instrument panel 20 as mentioned above, the inflator 16
spouts gas in the event of a vehicle collision, so that the air bag
12 is inflated as shown in FIG. 9. Because of the inflation of the
air bag 12, the instrument panel 20 is broken along the tear lines
36, 38, whereby the air bag 12 is largely inflated into a vehicle
cabin.
[0041] As apparent from the aforementioned description, the air bag
device of the present invention can eliminate a container-like
retainer used in the conventional air bag device for a passenger's
seat since the frame portion 30 is integrally formed in the
instrument panel 20 according to the air bag device for the
passenger's seat of this embodiment. Accordingly, regardless of the
layout requirements of the space behind the instrument panel 20,
the installation of the air bag device can be done just by fitting
the assembly 70 composed of the base plate 10, the air bag 12, the
bag-fixing ring 14 and the inflator 16 into the frame portion
30.
[0042] In the aforementioned embodiment, the assembly 70 is
connected to the frame portion 30 by inserting the hooks 34 on both
sides of the base plate 10 into the hook holes 32 of the frame
portion 30. The present invention is not limited thereto. The base
plate may have a channel-like portion 10a on one side thereof just
like a base plate 10A shown in FIGS. 10(a) and 10(b). In this case,
after the hooks 34 on the other side are inserted into the hook
holes 32, the assembly 70A is pushed up to engage the lower end of
the frame portion 30 with the channel-like portion 10a, and then
the channel-like portion 10a is fixed to the frame portion 30 by
bolts 10d. In FIG. 10(a), a reference numeral 10b designates a
bolt-through hole, and a reference numeral 10c designates a nut
fixed to the base plate 10A.
[0043] According to the present invention, the periphery of the
assembly 70 composed of the base plate 10, the bag-fixing ring 14,
the air bag 12 and the inflator 16 may be surrounded by a pair of
surrounding members. FIG. 11 through FIG. 15 show this embodiment,
in which each surrounding member 72 comprises a long side wall 72a
to be arranged on the side of the air bag 12 and short side walls
72b projecting from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the
long side wall 72a such that a U-shape is formed by the long side
wall 72a and the short side walls 72b. The long side wall 72a has a
plurality of holes 74 therein for allowing the insertion of the
aforementioned hooks 34. The surrounding members 72 are provided
with claws 76 formed on the outer surface of the long side walls
72a.
[0044] The surrounding members 72 are arranged on both sides of the
assembly 70 in such a manner that the hooks 34 are inserted into
the holes 74, the short-side walls 72b of the respective
surrounding members 72 are partly superposed on each other, and
then the surrounding members 72 are connected at the superposed
portions of the short-side walls 72b by rivets 78. After that,
resin plates 80 are put on the outer surfaces of the surrounding
members 72, and the resin plates 80 are fixed to the surrounding
members 72 by rivets 82 as shown in FIG. 14.
[0045] Resin bars 84 are supported on the surrounding members 72 by
the claws 76. The resin bars 84 are arranged to extend along the
lower edges of the holes 74. Accordingly, the hooks 34 are
sandwiched between the resin bars 84 and the resin plates 80 as
shown in FIGS. 12 and 14.
[0046] As shown in FIG. 13, the assembly 70 with the surrounding
members 72 is disposed in the space behind the instrument panel 20
in the same manner as the aforementioned embodiment, so that the
base plate 10 is fixed to the vehicle member 68 (not shown in FIGS.
11 through 15).
[0047] In this case, the height in the depth direction of a frame
portion 30A behind the instrument panel 20 is lower than that of
the aforementioned frame portion 30, so that the frame portion 30A
surrounds only the outer surface of an upper half portion of the
air bag 12. When the assembly is installed, the upper ends of the
surrounding members 72 are slightly inserted into the frame portion
30A.
[0048] When an impact is applied to the instrument panel 20, for
example, when the head of an occupant collides with the instrument
panel 20, the surrounding members 72 are moved downwardly as shown
in FIG. 15. At this point, the resin plates 80 tend to be moved
downwardly together with the surrounding members 72. However, since
the resin plates 80 contact the hooks 34 of the base plate 10 and
the base plate 10 is fixed to the vehicle member so that it is
prevented from moving, the resin plates 80 are compressed by the
hooks 34, so that the resin plates 80 are plastically deformed,
thereby absorbing the impact energy.
[0049] Though the surrounding members 72 are just inserted inside
the frame portion 30A in the structure shown in FIG. 11 through
FIG. 15, the present invention is not limited to this structure. As
shown in FIGS. 16 and 17, the surrounding members 72 may have hooks
90, and the frame portion 30A may be a frame portion 30B having
holes 32 therein. In this case, the surrounding members 72 are
engaged with the frame portion 30B by inserting the hooks 90 into
the holes 32. Other components of this embodiment of FIG. 16 are
the same as those of the embodiment of FIG. 13, so that the same or
similar components are designated by the reference numerals used in
FIG. 13.
[0050] As described above, the present invention can provide the
air bag device, in which components, such as the base plate, can be
used in common in various vehicle models with different profiles or
configurations of an instrument panel and different layout
requirements of the space behind the instrument panel.
[0051] According to the present invention, an air bag device, which
is light in weight because of less metallic parts as compared to a
conventional air bag device, can be provided.
[0052] In addition, according to the present invention, an air bag
device can be composed to have a function of absorbing impact on
the instrument panel.
[0053] While the invention has been explained with reference to the
specific embodiments of the invention, the explanation is
illustrative and the invention is limited only by the appended
claims.
* * * * *