Airbag apparatus

An airbag apparatus includes a far-side airbag and an expansion control processor controlling expansion of the far-side airbag. The far-side airbag is a cylindrical base fabric member, has an annular outer periphery, and has a shoulder protection air chamber, a head protection air chamber, and a non-inflating unit in an inner periphery. The shoulder protection air chamber is expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape to protect a shoulder of an occupant seated in a vehicle front seat. The head protection air chamber is expanded into a semicircular shape and falls against the occupant to protect the occupant's head. The non-inflating unit is disposed adjacent to the back shoulder air chamber and includes an inflator covered with a cylinder. The far-side airbag has a gas passage through which high-pressure gas discharged from discharge ports of the cylinder are fed to the shoulder protection air chamber and the head protection air chamber.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2022-168646 filed on Oct. 20, 2022, the entire contents of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

BACKGROUND

The disclosure relates to an airbag apparatus.

Airbag apparatuses have been put in practical use and widely used as safety apparatuses that protect occupants in vehicles upon contact of the vehicles.

As one of these airbag apparatuses, a far-side airbag apparatus has been also put in practical use. The far-side airbag apparatus protects an occupant by restricting an occupant's behavior caused upon side contact of an own vehicle.

International Publication No. WO 2020/036048, for example, discloses an airbag device that includes first to third expanding portions and a recessed part. The first expanding portion expands and deploys on a side of a shoulder of an occupant. The second and third expanding portions expand and deploy further forward and rearward than the first expanding portion. The recessed part is formed between the second and third expanding portions. A tether is attached to the second expanding portion and a seat frame so as to bridge the recessed part, and opposes the first expanding portion via the recessed part. Upon deployment of the airbag, the tether comes into contact with the shoulder of the occupant, and therefore, the second expanding portion changes its shape in a direction closer to a front of the occupant.

SUMMARY

An aspect of the disclosure provides an airbag apparatus to be applied to a vehicle. The airbag apparatus includes a far-side airbag and an expansion control processor. The far-side airbag is to be disposed on a center console side of a seat backrest of a front seat of the vehicle. The far-side airbag is a single cylindrical base fabric member. The far-side airbag has an annular outer periphery, and has a shoulder protection air chamber, a head protection air chamber, and a non-inflating unit in an inner periphery. The shoulder protection air chamber has a back shoulder air chamber, a side shoulder air chamber, and a front shoulder air chamber that are each to be expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape to protect a shoulder of an occupant in the vehicle. The head protection air chamber is to be expanded into a semicircular shape and fall against the occupant seated in the front seat of the vehicle to protect a head portion of the occupant. The non-inflating unit is disposed adjacent to the back shoulder air chamber. The expansion control processor is configured to control expansion of the far-side airbag. The non-inflating unit includes an inflator therein. The inflator is covered with a cylinder. The far-side airbag has a gas passage through which high-pressure gas discharged from discharge ports of the cylinder are to be fed into the shoulder protection air chamber and the head protection air chamber.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

An airbag device disclosed in International Publication No. WO 2020/036048 restricts an occupant's behavior by holding a shoulder of an occupant by a reaction force of a tether.

However, when another occupant is seated in a passenger seat, the occupant seated in the passenger seat exhibits a behavior different from that of the occupant seated in the driver seat due to a difference in contact shock transmission. This can result in contact between the occupant in the driver seat and the occupant in the passenger seat.

In addition, the airbag device disclosed in International Publication No. WO 2020/036048, which restricts the occupant's behavior by holding the shoulder of the occupant upon side contact of the vehicle, is not expected to provide a sufficient effect to control the occupant's behavior upon frontal contact of the vehicle.

It is desirable to provide an airbag apparatus that appropriately controls an occupant's behavior upon any of side contact and frontal contact of a vehicle.

Example Embodiment

An airbag apparatus1according to an example embodiment of the disclosure will now be described with reference toFIGS.1to5.

InFIGS.1,2, and5, an arrow FR indicates a frontward direction of a vehicle, an arrow BK indicates a backward direction of the vehicle, an arrow UP indicates an upward direction of the vehicle, an arrow DN indicates a downward direction of the vehicle, an arrow LH indicates a left-side of a vehicle width direction in front view of the vehicle, and an arrow RH indicates a right-side of the vehicle width direction in front view of the vehicle.

Note that upward, downward, frontward, backward, rightward, and leftward directions used in the following description are directions with respect to the vehicle in front view of the vehicle unless otherwise stated.

FIG.1illustrates an own vehicle MV on which the airbag apparatus1according to the example embodiment is mounted.

InFIG.1, occupants CRR and CRL and far-side airbags10of the airbag apparatus1are illustrated. The occupants CRR and CRL are seated in respective seats2each including a seat backrest21and a head rest22. Hereinafter, the occupants CRR and CRL may be each referred to as an “occupant CR” when they are not to be distinguished from each other. The far-side airbag10is disposed on a center console side of the seat backrest21. The far-side airbags10may be expanded upon the occurrence of contact at a left-side face or a right-side face of the own vehicle MV in the vehicle width direction, or the occurrence of frontal contact of the own vehicle MV

As illustrated inFIGS.2and5, the far-side airbag10according to the example embodiment is a single cylindrical base fabric member.

The far-side airbag10, which is the single cylindrical base fabric member, may be stitched with a tether to have an annular outer periphery and to have a shoulder protection air chamber11, a head protection air chamber12, and a non-inflating unit15in an inner periphery. The shoulder protection air chamber11has a back shoulder air chamber11SB, a side shoulder air chamber11SS, and a front shoulder air chamber11SF that are each expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape to protect a shoulder of the occupant CR. The head protection air chamber12is expanded into a semicircular shape and falls against the occupant CR seated in the seat2to protect the head of the occupant CR. The non-inflating unit15is disposed adjacent to the back shoulder air chamber11SB.

In the non-inflating unit15, a storage case16may be provided. In the storage case16, an inflator13covered with a cylinder14may be stored. The cylinder14has discharge ports EPU and EPD at an upper end and a lower end, respectively.

The far-side airbag10has a gas passage having apertures APA, APB, and APC formed by a tether. High-pressure gas discharged from the discharge ports EPU and EPD are fed into the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12through the gas passage.

InFIG.2, dashed-dotted curved arrows indicate the flow of the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge port EPU, and dashed-two dotted curved arrows indicate the flow of the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge port EPD.

The head protection air chamber12, the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF of the far-side airbag10may be inflated and expanded in this order by the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge ports EPU and EPD.

The cylinder14may have a J-shape extending from its upper portion to its lower portion. The cylinder14may have the discharge port EPU at the upper end and the discharge port EPD at the lower end.

Inside the cylinder14, hollow spaces14A and14B may be defined between an inner face of the cylinder14and an outer shape of the inflator3.

After the expansion of the far-side airbag10, the hollow spaces14A and14B of the cylinder14may equalize the pressure of the high-pressure gas. When a back face of the shoulder of the occupant CR comes into contact with the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the front shoulder air chamber11SF may change its expanded shape so as to wrap around the shoulder of the occupant CR.

<Electrical Configuration of Airbag Apparatus1>

An exemplary electrical configuration of the airbag apparatus1according to the example embodiment will now be described with reference toFIG.3.

As illustrated inFIG.3, the airbag apparatus1according to the example embodiment may include a detector110, an expansion control processor120, and an inflator13.

The detector110may detect a direction of contact of the own vehicle MV.

The detector110may be, for example, a sensor that includes a sensor unit that detects right-side contact, a sensor unit that detects left-side contact, and and a sensor unit that detects frontal contact.

The detector110may output sensor data acquired by these sensor units to the expansion control processor120.

The detector110may be an acceleration sensor that detects a shock or vibration applied to the own vehicle MV as an acceleration rate, for example.

Examples of the acceleration sensor may include a piezoresistive acceleration sensor that utilizes a change in electric resistance of a semiconductor, and an electrostatic capacitance acceleration sensor that detects a gap change between a movable part and a fixing part of an interdigital electrode as an electrostatic capacitance.

Alternatively, the detector110may include an acceleration sensor that detects contact and another acceleration sensor that detects a floor acceleration rate. In this case, the detector110may determine or assess contact of the own vehicle MV based on the acceleration rates measured by both of the acceleration sensors.

The expansion control processor120controls the expansion of the far-side airbag10.

For example, the expansion control processor120may control the activation of the inflator13(to be described later) based on the sensor data received from the detector110.

In the example embodiment, the expansion control processor120may control the activation of the inflator13(to be described later) when receiving any one of the sensor data indicating detection of right-side contact, the sensor data indicating detection of left-side contact, and the sensor data indicating detection of frontal contact from the detector110.

When receiving an activation signal from the expansion control processor120, the inflator13may supply high-pressure gas to the far-side airbag10to inflate and expand the far-side airbag10.

The inflator13may discharge the high-pressure gas from longitudinal ends of the body of the inflator13to the outside.

An exemplary flow of the process performed by the airbag apparatus1according to the example embodiment will now be described with reference toFIGS.4and5.

As illustrated inFIG.4, the expansion control processor120may determine whether the occurrence of contact of the own vehicle MV has been detected based on a detection signal (sensor signal) received from the detector110(Step S100).

When the expansion control processor120determines that the occurrence of contact of the own vehicle MV has not been detected (Step S100: NO), the flow may return to a stand-by mode.

In contrast, when the expansion control processor120determines that the occurrence of contact of the own vehicle MV has been detected (Step S100: YES), the inflator13may be activated (Step S200), following which the flow may end.

When the inflator13is activated in response to the activation signal received from the expansion control processor120, the high-pressure gas may be discharged from the longitudinal ends of the body of the inflator13to the outside.

The inflator13may be included in the cylinder14. The cylinder14may have a J-shape extending from its upper portion to its lower portion, and the discharge port EPU at the upper end and the discharge port EPD at the lower end. The discharge port EPU may open in a direction toward the head protection air chamber12provided above the discharge port EPU, and the discharge port EPD may open in a direction in which an end of the cylinder14curves along a surface of the shoulder protection air chamber11.

When the inflator13is activated, the high-pressure gas may flow from an upper portion of the far-side airbag10(as indicated by an arrow (1) inFIG.5) in an outer peripheral direction of the far-side airbag10to expand the back shoulder air chamber11SB. Thereafter, the high-pressure gas may flow into a frontal inner side of the outer periphery of the far-side airbag10(as indicated by an arrow (2) inFIG.5), and may change its direction to a lower inner side of the outer periphery of the far-side airbag10(as indicated by an arrow (3) inFIG.5) to expand the side shoulder air chamber11SS and the front shoulder air chamber11SF.

In more detail, as illustrated inFIG.2, the high-pressure gas discharged from the upper end of the inflator13(indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow) may flow through the discharge port EPU at the upper end of the cylinder14into an upper outer peripheral direction of the far-side airbag10.

In contrast, the high-pressure gas discharged from the lower end of the inflator13(indicated by the dashed-two dotted arrow inFIG.2) may flow through the discharge port EPD at the lower end of the cylinder14via a bottom portion of the shoulder protection air chamber11into the front shoulder air chamber11SF, and may change its direction to the upward direction.

The high-pressure gas discharged from the upper end of the inflator13(indicated by the dashed-dotted arrow inFIG.2) and the high-pressure gas discharged from the lower end of the inflator13(indicated by the dashed-two dotted arrow inFIG.2) may merge with each other at the aperture APA provided between the head protection air chamber12and the shoulder protection air chamber11, and may flow through the aperture APB into the back shoulder air chamber11SB to expand the back shoulder air chamber11SB.

Thereafter, the merged high-pressure gas may flow into the side shoulder air chamber11SS through the aperture APC to expand the side shoulder air chamber11S S.

Thereafter, the front shoulder air chamber11SF and the head protection air chamber12may be expanded, which may complete the expansion of the entire far-side airbag10.

Further, when the shoulder of the occupant CR is pressed against the back shoulder air chamber11SB upon the occurrence of contact of the own vehicle MV as illustrated inFIG.5, the shoulder protection air chamber11may rotate forward around a side face17of the storage case16of the inflator13to deform so as to wrap around the entire shoulder of the occupant CR.

Workings and Effects

The airbag apparatus1according to the foregoing example embodiment described above includes the far-side airbag10and the expansion control processor120. The far-side airbag10is disposed on the center console side of the seat backrest21of the front seat of the own vehicle MV. The far-side airbag10is the single cylindrical base fabric member. The far-side airbag10has the annular outer periphery, and has the shoulder protection air chamber11, the head protection air chamber12, and the non-inflating unit15on the inner periphery. The shoulder protection air chamber11has the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF. The back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11S S, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF are each expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape to protect the shoulder of the occupant CR to protect a shoulder of the occupant in the own vehicle MV. The head protection air chamber12is expanded into a semicircular shape and falls against the occupant CR seated in the seat2of the own vehicle MV to protect a head portion of the occupant CR. The non-inflating unit15is disposed adjacent to the back shoulder air chamber11SB. The expansion control processor120controls the expansion of the far-side airbag10. The non-inflating unit15includes the inflator13therein, and the inflator13is covered with the cylinder14. The far-side airbag10has a gas passage through which the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge ports EPU and EPD of the cylinder14are fed into the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12.

That is, the far-side airbag10, which is the single cylindrical base fabric member, may be stitched with the tether to have the shoulder protection air chamber11, the head protection air chamber12, and the non-inflating unit15. The shoulder protection air chamber11has the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF each of which is expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape. The head protection air chamber12is expanded into a semicircular shape and falls against the occupant CR seated in the seat2to protect the head of the occupant CR. The non-inflating unit15is disposed adjacent to the back shoulder air chamber11SB.

Accordingly, it is possible to maintain a high degree of sealing of the high-pressure gas discharged from the inflator13and remaining inside the far-side airbag10.

Further, the far-side airbag10has the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12. The shoulder protection air chamber11has the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF each of which is expanded into a longitudinal cylindrical shape. The head protection air chamber12is expanded into a semicircular shape, and falls against the occupant CR seated in the seat2to protect the head of the occupant CR.

Accordingly, it is possible to appropriately protect the shoulder and the head of the occupant CR from the impact of right-side contact, left-side contact, or frontal contact of the own vehicle MV.

Further, the non-inflating unit15of the far-side airbag10includes the inflator13therein, and the inflator13is covered with the cylinder14. The far-side airbag10has the gas passage through which the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge ports EPU and EPD of the cylinder14are fed to the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12.

That is, the non-inflating unit15is fixed inside the seat backrest21, and the high-pressure gas discharged from the ends of the inflator13are fed into inside the far-side airbag10via the discharge ports EPU and EPD, and are then flown into the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12through the gas passage preliminarily formed.

The gas passage preliminarily formed makes it possible to expand the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF of the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12immediately at an appropriate timing upon right-side contact, left-side contact, or frontal contact of the vehicle.

Further, according to the airbag apparatus1of the foregoing example embodiment, the back shoulder air chamber11SB and the side shoulder air chamber11SS that are provided on an inner side of the outer periphery of the far-side airbag10may be inflated and expanded in this order by the high-pressure gas discharged from the discharge ports EPU and EPD of the cylinder14, following which the front shoulder air chamber11SF and the head protection air chamber12may be inflated and expanded by the high-pressure gas.

That is, upon the occurrence of side contact of the vehicle, the shoulder of the occupant CR may be pressed against the back shoulder air chamber11SB first, and then against the side shoulder air chamber11SS. In addition, the head of the occupant CR may incline toward the head protection air chamber12.

Upon the occurrence of frontal contact of the vehicle, the shoulder of the occupant CR may be pressed against the back shoulder air chamber11SB first, and then against the front shoulder air chamber11SF.

Following the expanding order of the airbag apparatus1according to the foregoing example embodiment, it is possible to appropriately control the occupant behavior upon the occurrence of any of side contact and frontal contact of the vehicle.

Further, according to the airbag apparatus1of the foregoing example embodiment, the cylinder14may have a J-shape.

For example, the cylinder14may have a J-shape extending from its upper portion to its lower portion, and may be provided with the discharge ports EPU and EPD at its upper end and its lower end, respectively.

That is, the high-pressure gas discharged from the ends of the inflator13may be fed into inside the far-side airbag10along the shape of the cylinder14through the discharge ports EPU and EPD.

The shape of the cylinder14and the gas passage preliminarily formed make it possible to expand the back shoulder air chamber11SB, the side shoulder air chamber11SS, and the front shoulder air chamber11SF of the shoulder protection air chamber11and the head protection air chamber12immediately at an appropriate timing upon right-side contact, left-side contact, or frontal contact of the own vehicle MV.

Further, according to the airbag apparatus1of the foregoing example embodiment, the far-side airbag10may be provided with the hollow spaces14A and14B defined between the inner face of the cylinder14and the outer shape of the inflator13. When the shoulder of the occupant CR comes into contact with the back shoulder air chamber11SB after the expansion of the far-side airbag10, the shoulder protection air chamber11may change its expanded shape so as to wrap around the shoulder of the occupant CR.

That is, when the back face of the shoulder of the occupant CR comes into contact with the back shoulder air chamber11SB after the expansion of the far-side airbag10, the hollow spaces14A and14B defined between the inner face of the cylinder14and the outer shape of the inflator13may equalize the high-pressure gas. Accordingly, the shoulder protection air chamber11may be rotated forward by the pressing force applied to the back shoulder air chamber11SB so as to wrap around the entire shoulder of the occupant CR.

It is possible to implement the airbag apparatus1of the foregoing example embodiment of the disclosure by recording the process to be executed by the expansion control processor120on a non-transitory recording medium readable by a computer system, and causing the computer system to load the program recorded on the non-transitory recording medium onto the expansion control processor120to execute the program. The computer system as used herein may encompass an operating system (OS) and a hardware such as a peripheral device.

In addition, when the computer system utilizes a World Wide Web (WWW) system, the “computer system” may encompass a website providing environment (or a website displaying environment). The program may be transmitted from a computer system that contains the program in a storage device or the like to another computer system via a transmission medium or by a carrier wave in a transmission medium. The “transmission medium” that transmits the program may refer to a medium having a capability to transmit data, including a network (e.g., a communication network) such as the Internet and a communication link (e.g., a communication line) such as a telephone line.

Further, the program may be directed to implement a part of the operation described above. The program may be a so-called differential file (differential program) configured to implement the operation by a combination of a program already recorded on the computer system.

Although some embodiments of the disclosure have been described in the foregoing by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawings, the disclosure is by no means limited to the embodiments described above. It should be appreciated that modifications and alterations may be made by persons skilled in the art without departing from the scope as defined by the appended claims. The disclosure is intended to include such modifications and alterations in so far as they fall within the scope of the appended claims or the equivalents thereof.

According to one or more example embodiments of the disclosure, it is possible to provide an airbag apparatus that makes it possible to appropriately control an occupant behavior upon side contact or frontal contact of the vehicle.