Automotive side airbag and method of operating same

Proposed is an automotive side airbag including: an inflator ejecting gas when operating; an air cushion expanded and unfolded forward from a side of a passenger by the gas ejected from the inflator; and a diffuser disposed in the air cushion, supplying the gas ejected from the inflator to the air cushion, and having a discharge hole formed across a direction in which the air cushion is unfolded by the supplied gas.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

The present application claims priority to Korean Patent Application No. 10-2020-0011162, filed Jan. 30, 2020, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to an automotive side airbag and a method of operating the automotive side airbag and, more particularly, to a technology about an airbag that can be mounted at the driver seat and a passenger seat to protect the side of a passenger in a collision of a vehicle.

Description of the Related Art

An airbag is a representative device for protecting a passenger with the seatbelt and an airbag system is a system for protecting a passenger with a shock-absorbing ability by inflating due to the pressure of gas supplied into an airbag cushion in a collision of a vehicle. The airbag system is generally classified into a driver airbag system mounted in the steering wheel, a passenger airbag system mounted over the glove box, a knee airbag system mounted in the instrument panel, a curtain airbag system mounted along the roof rail, and a side airbag system mounted in a side of a seat.

In these systems, the side airbag system protects a side of a passenger from the chest to the buttocks by inflating forward from a side of a seat in a side collision, a front collision, and overturn of a vehicle. The side airbag system may be mounted at only the front seats or may be mounted at all the front seats and rear seats, depending on cases.

The description provided above as a related art of the present invention is just for helping understanding the background of the present invention and should not be construed as being included in the related art known by those skilled in the art.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An objective of the present invention is to provide an automotive side airbag that can improve the performance of preventing the chest of a passenger from being injured by inflating and lifting a passenger's arm to prevent the passenger's arm from interfering with and pressing against the chest in a side collision of a vehicle.

In order to achieve the objectives, the present invention provides an automotive side airbag including: an inflator ejecting gas when operating; an air cushion expanded and unfolded forward from a side of a passenger by the gas ejected from the inflator; and a diffuser disposed in the air cushion, supplying the gas ejected from the inflator to the air cushion, and having a discharge hole formed across a direction in which the air cushion is unfolded by the supplied gas.

The air cushion may expand toward a passenger or outward the passenger, and the discharge hole may be formed in an expansion direction of the air cushion.

The air cushion may unfold forward while expanding in a direction crossing the direction in which the air cushion unfolds.

When the air cushion unfolds, an arm of a passenger may be lifted diagonally upward.

The discharge hole of the diffuser may be formed toward a passenger or outward from the passenger.

The discharge hole of the diffuser may be formed as a plurality of pieces toward a passenger or outward from the passenger.

The automotive side airbag may further include a separator dividing an internal space of the air cushion into an upper chamber and a lower chamber, in which the diffuser may communicate with both of the upper chamber and the lower chamber.

A first assistant hole for supplying gas to the upper chamber and a second assistant hole for supplying gas to the lower chamber may be formed at the diffuser.

The discharge hole of the diffuser may communicate with an inside of the upper chamber.

The upper chamber may cover the chest or the stomach of a passenger when unfolding, and the lower may chamber cover the pelvis of the passenger when unfolding.

The separator may be coupled to an outer side of the diffuser under the discharge hole.

In order to achieve the objectives, the present invention provides a method of operating the automotive side airbag, the method including: sensing a collision of a vehicle; operating the inflator to eject gas into the air cushion when a collision is sensed; and supplying gas into the air cushion through the discharge hole of the diffuser formed across the direction in which the air cushion unfolds.

The method may further include unfolding the air cushion forward from a side of a passenger after the supplying of gas.

According to the present invention, the side airbag lifts up an arm of a passenger while inflating in a side collision of a vehicle, thereby preventing the passenger's arm from interfering with and pressing against the chest. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the performance for preventing a passenger from being injured.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

In the following description, the structural or functional description specified to exemplary embodiments according to the concept of the present invention is intended to describe the exemplary embodiments, so it should be understood that the present invention may be variously embodied, without being limited to the exemplary embodiments.

Embodiments described herein may be changed in various ways and various shapes, so specific embodiments are shown in the drawings and will be described in detail in this specification. However, it should be understood that the exemplary embodiments according to the concept of the present invention are not limited to the embodiments which will be described hereinbelow with reference to the accompanying drawings, but all of modifications, equivalents, and substitutions are included in the scope and spirit of the present invention.

It is to be understood that when one element is referred to as being “connected to” or “coupled to” another element, it may be connected directly to or coupled directly to another element or be connected to or coupled to another element, having the other element intervening therebetween. On the other hand, it is to be understood that when one element is referred to as being “connected directly to” or “coupled directly to” another element, it may be connected to or coupled to another element without the other element intervening therebetween. Further, the terms used herein to describe a relationship between elements, that is, “between”, “directly between”, “adjacent” or “directly adjacent” should be interpreted in the same manner as those described above.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical and scientific terms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention belongs. It must be understood that the terms defined by the dictionary are identical with the meanings within the context of the related art, and they should not be ideally or excessively formally defined unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

The present invention will be described hereafter in detail by describing exemplary embodiments of the present invention with reference to the accompanying drawings. Like reference numerals given in the drawings indicate like components.

Referring toFIGS. 1 to 6, an embodiment of an automotive side airbag1000of the present invention includes: an inflator300ejecting gas when operating; an air cushion200expanded and unfolded forward from a side of a passenger by the gas ejected from the inflator300; and a diffuser100disposed in the air cushion200, supplying the gas ejected from the inflator300to the air cushion200, and having a discharge hole110formed across a direction in which the air cushion200is unfolded by the supplied gas.

That is, the present invention relates to a device mounted in a side of a seat in a vehicle and protecting a side of a passenger from a door structure in a collision of the vehicle, in which a collision is sensed by a sensor in a car accident, a gas producer is ignited in the inflator300, whereby gas can be ejected. The gas can be supplied into the air cushion200through the diffuser100disposed around the inflator300in the air cushion200.

That is, the diffuser100has a plurality of holes and the gas discharged from the inflator300flows into the air cushion200through the holes, whereby the air cushion200can expand.

Accordingly, the air cushion200is expanded and protruded toward the front of a vehicle from a side of a seat to be positioned between a passenger and a door by the gas produced from the inflator300, thereby protecting a side from the chest to the pelvis of the passenger.

As shown inFIG. 1, the side airbag further includes a separator400dividing the internal space of the air cushion200into an upper chamber210and a lower chamber220, and the diffuser100may communicate with both of the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220.

That is, the separator400may be disposed between the air cushion200and the diffuser100, and the diffuser100may have a first assistant hole120for supplying gas to the upper chamber210and a second assistant hole130for supplying gas to the lower chamber220.

A vent hole230may be formed at the upper chamber210of the air cushion200supplied with gas from the first assistant hole120of the diffuser100so that the gas can be discharged to the front of a vehicle.

The air cushion200is manufactured by fitting two panels flat and sewing the edges. The vent hole230may be formed by not sewing a portion of the two panels facing the front of a vehicle when fitting the two panels and sewing the edges to manufacture the air cushion200. The vent hole230discharges the gas from the upper chamber210after the air cushion200is unfolded by an appropriate unfolding pressure, whereby it is possible to prevent a passenger from being injured by excessive unfolding pressure of the air cushion200.

The air cushion200can be expanded and unfolded forward from a side of a passenger by the gas ejected from the inflator300. Since the discharge hole110is formed at the diffuser100across the unfolding direction of the air cushion200, the air cushion200can expand toward a passenger or outward from the passenger. That is, the discharge hole110of the diffuser100may be formed in the expansion direction of the air cushion200.

The air cushion200can unfold forward while expanding across the unfolding direction.

The discharge hole110of the diffuser100may be formed toward a passenger or outward from a passenger, as show inFIGS. 1 to 4.

Alternatively, as shown inFIGS. 5 and 6, a plurality of discharge holes110may be formed at the diffuser110toward a passenger or outward from the passenger.

As shown inFIGS. 1 to 4, the gas ejected from the inflator300flows into the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220of the air cushion220through the first assistant hole120and the second assistant hole130of the diffuser100, so the air cushion200can unfold toward the front of a vehicle and toward a side of a passenger or outward from the passenger by the discharge hole110of the diffuser100.

That is, when the air cushion200unfolds, an arm of a passenger can be lifted diagonally upward. The air cushion200lifts up an arm of a passenger while inflating, thereby preventing the passenger's arm from interfering with and pressing against the chest. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the performance for preventing a passenger from being injured.

Alternatively, as shown inFIG. 5, the gas ejected from the inflator300flows into the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220of the air cushion220through the first assistant hole120and the second assistant hole130of the diffuser100, so the air cushion200can unfold toward the front of a vehicle and toward a side of a passenger or outward from the passenger by the discharge holes110of the diffuser100. Accordingly, the air cushion200can lift an arm of a passenger diagonally upward when unfolding.

As shown inFIGS. 1 to 6, the separator400may be coupled to the outer side of the diffuser100under the discharge hole110.

That is, the separator400may be disposed between the diffuser100and the air cushion200and any one of both ends of the separator400is not coupled, so the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220of the air cushion can communicate with each other.

The separator400can control the unfolding direction of the air cushion200. That is, the separator400can limit the distance between the diffuser100and the air cushion200when the air cushion200unfolds forward or laterally, and can prevent a passenger from being injured by excessive unfolding pressure of the air cushion200.

The diffuser100is in the state shown inFIGS. 2, 4, and 6when gas is not produced in the inflator300.

That is, there is no car accident and gas is not produced in the inflator300, the diffuser100may be in the state folded along the dotted line. When the diffuser100is inflated and expanded by gas ejected from the inflator300, gas can be supplied into the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220of the air cushion through the first assistant hole120, the second assistant hole130, and the discharge hole110.

The discharge hole110of the diffuser100may be formed at a position where it can communicate with the inside of the upper chamber210of the air cushion200.

That is, the diffuser100is inflated by gas initially ejected from the inflator300and the gas in the diffuser100flows into both of the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220through the first assistant hole120, the second assistant hole130, and the discharge hole110. However, since the lower chamber220is smaller in volume than the upper chamber210, gas pressure increases earlier in the lower chamber220, so the gas pressure in the lower chamber220can become higher than the pressure in the diffuser100. Accordingly, it is possible to make the internal pressures of the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220the same, thereby being able to prevent the lower chamber220from unfolding first.

Alternatively, it is possible to change the volumes of the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220by changing the position where the separator400is coupled such the discharge hole110of the diffuser100can be formed at a position where it can communicate with the inside of the lower chamber220of the air cushion200.

The automotive side air bag1000may be installed in a side of a seat, that is, at a position where the elbow of a passenger facing a door or the chest of a passenger is positioned, thereby being able to protect the chest by effectively lifting the arm of the passenger.

That is, when unfolding, the upper chamber210can cover the chest or the stomach of a passenger and the lower chamber220can cover the pelvis of a passenger.

As described above, according to the automotive side airbag1000of the present invention, the upper chamber210of the air cushion200lifts an arm of a passenger diagonally upward when unfolding due to a plurality of or one discharge hole110, whereby it is possible to more effectively prevent an arm of a passenger from injuring the chest. Further, after the upper chamber210and the lower chamber220inflate in predetermined sizes, the gas in the upper chamber210is discharged through the vent hole230and the gas in the lower chamber220flows into the upper chamber210through the diffuser100to be able to be discharged through the vent hole230, whereby it is possible to decrease the gas pressure in the air cushion200.

FIG. 7is a view showing a method of operating an automotive side airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Referring toFIG. 7, a method of operating an automotive side airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention includes: sensing a collision of a vehicle (S100); operating the inflator300to eject gas into the air cushion200when a collision is sensed (S200); and supplying gas into the air cushion200through the discharge hole110formed across the unfolding direction of the air cushion200(S300).

A controller (not shown) according to an embodiment of the present invention can control a portion of the method of operating an automotive side airbag. The controller (not shown) may be an automotive ECU or a specific controller connected with the ECU and can sense a collision of a vehicle and can operate the inflator300.

The controller (not shown) according to exemplary embodiments of the present invention can be implemented through a nonvolatile memory (not shown) configured to store algorithms for controlling operation of various components of a vehicle or data about software commands for executing the algorithms, and a processor (not shown) configured to perform operation to be described below using the data stored in the memory. The memory and the processor may be individual chips. Alternatively, the memory and the processor may be integrated in a single chip. The processor may be implemented as one or more processors.

The method may further include unfolding the air cushion200forward from a side of a passenger (S400) after the supplying of gas (S300).

Although the present invention was provided above in relation to specific embodiments shown in the drawings, it is apparent to those skilled in the art that the present invention may be changed and modified in various ways without departing from the scope of the present invention, which is described in the following claims.