Patent Description:
A curtain airbag is mounted on a roof of a motor vehicle. When deployed, the curtain airbag abuts a side window of the vehicle to protect the head of an occupant during a side impact or rollover accident. When stowed, the curtain airbag can be rolled and/or folded into an elongated shape. However, the elongated curtain airbag is prone to twisting such that, on the one hand, it is difficult to align the elongated curtain airbag with a mounting portion of the vehicle, and on the other hand, deployment of the curtain airbag may be affected.

It is known that a marking line extending in a lengthwise direction of the curtain airbag is provided on the curtain airbag to determine whether the curtain airbag is twisted. If it is observed that the marking line curves, then it is determined that the curtain airbag is twisted. However, this largely depends on human visual determination, and thus results in the occurrence of missed detection. <CIT> discloses a curtain airbag for a vehicle comprising an airbag main body, the airbag main body defining an air chamber, and a strip-shaped component, abutting against the airbag main body.

Therefore, it is necessary to provide a curtain airbag that allows for reliable determination of whether the curtain airbag is twisted.

The present invention provides a curtain airbag that allows for reliable determination of whether the curtain airbag is twisted.

The present invention provides a curtain airbag for a vehicle, the curtain airbag comprising: an airbag main body, the airbag main body defining an air chamber; and a strip-shaped component, abutting the airbag main body, wherein the strip-shaped component is electrically conductive, and is configured to deform or break when the airbag main body is twisted so that the electrical resistance of the strip-shaped component changes.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the airbag main body can be rolled and/or folded to have an elongated shape extending in a lengthwise direction of the airbag main body, and the strip-shaped component extends in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the strip-shaped component is provided with multiple slits spaced apart from each other.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the strip-shaped component has a first side edge and a second side edge opposite each other and extending in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body, and the multiple slits comprise: multiple first slits extending inwards from the first side edge in a widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component; and multiple second slits extending inwards from the second side edge in the widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component, wherein the first slits and the second slits are arranged alternately in sequence in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the strip-shaped component is located in an appropriate position on an outer surface of the elongated airbag main body, so that the resistance of the strip-shaped component is easily measured when the airbag main body is mounted on the vehicle.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the strip-shaped component extends along an entire length of the airbag main body.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the strip-shaped component is a metal, an electrically conductive macromolecular polymer, an electrically conductive film, or an electrically conductive non-woven fabric.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the airbag main body comprises two airbag main pieces, and the two airbag main pieces are sewn together at an edge region, and seal the air chamber, wherein
the strip-shaped component is fitted to the airbag main body by means of adhesion and/or sewing.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the airbag main body is integrally formed, and the strip-shaped component is fitted to the airbag main body by means of bonding.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, if the airbag main body is twisted, then the strip-shaped component abutting the airbag main body deforms or even breaks. When the strip-shaped component deforms or breaks, the resistance of the strip-shaped component changes. Therefore, by measuring a change in the resistance of the strip-shaped component, it is possible to detect whether the airbag main body is twisted. In this way, twisting of the airbag main body can be reliably detected without any missed detection.

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

<FIG> is a plan view showing a curtain airbag for a vehicle according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, a curtain airbag <NUM> includes an airbag main body <NUM> and a strip-shaped component <NUM>.

The airbag main body <NUM> is used to define an air chamber, and the air chamber can receive gas from a gas generator (not shown). The airbag main body <NUM> can be rolled and/or folded to have an elongated shape extending in a lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>, so that the airbag main body <NUM> is in a stowed state. The airbag main body <NUM> in the stowed state can be mounted on a roof of the vehicle. The strip-shaped component <NUM> abuts the airbag main body <NUM>, and is electrically conductive. The strip-shaped component <NUM> is configured to deform or break when the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted so that resistance of the strip-shaped component <NUM> changes.

A method for determining whether the curtain airbag <NUM> is twisted is described below. Firstly, when the airbag main body <NUM> is not rolled and/or folded, resistance R1 of the strip-shaped component <NUM> is measured. Then, after the airbag main body <NUM> is mounted on the roof of the vehicle, resistance R2 of the strip-shaped component <NUM> is measured. If R2 is greater than R1, then it is determined that the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted. If R2 is substantially equal to R1, then it is determined that the airbag main body <NUM> is not twisted.

If the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted, then the strip-shaped component <NUM> abutting the airbag main body <NUM> deforms or even breaks. When the strip-shaped component <NUM> deforms or breaks, the resistance of the strip-shaped component <NUM> changes. Specifically, when the strip-shaped component <NUM> deforms, the resistance thereof increases. When the strip-shaped component <NUM> breaks, the resistance thereof becomes infinitely great. Therefore, by measuring a change in the resistance of the strip-shaped component <NUM>, it is possible to detect whether the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted. In this way, twisting of the airbag main body <NUM> can be reliably detected without any missed detection.

In this embodiment, the strip-shaped component <NUM> extends in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>. However, it should be understood that the orientation of the strip-shaped component <NUM> is not limited thereto as long as the strip-shaped component <NUM> deforms or breaks when the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted. For example, the strip-shaped component <NUM> may extend obliquely in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>.

<FIG> is a partial enlarged view showing a strip-shaped component according to an embodiment of the present invention. <FIG> shows merely a portion of the strip-shaped component <NUM>, and the other portions of the strip-shaped component <NUM> have the same structure as that of the portion shown in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is provided with multiple slits spaced apart from each other. In this case, when the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is prone to break, and is not prone to fall off from the airbag main body <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the strip-shaped component <NUM> has a first side edge and a second side edge opposite each other and extending in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>. The strip-shaped component <NUM> has multiple first slits <NUM> and multiple second slits <NUM>. The first slit <NUM> extends inwards from the first side edge in a widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component <NUM>, and the second slit <NUM> extends inwards from the first side edge in the widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component <NUM>. The first slits <NUM> and the second slits <NUM> are arranged alternately in sequence in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>.

It should be understood that the arrangement of the first slit <NUM> and the second slit <NUM> is not limited thereto. For example, the first slit <NUM> and the second slit <NUM> may not split from the side edge of the strip-shaped component <NUM>, but may split in the interior of the strip-shaped component <NUM>. For example, the first slit <NUM> and the second slit <NUM> may also extend obliquely in the widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the multiple first slits <NUM> are arranged at equal intervals in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>, and the multiple second slits <NUM> are arranged at equal intervals in the lengthwise direction of the airbag main body <NUM>. A distance between two adjacent first slits <NUM> is equal to a distance between two adjacent second slits <NUM>. Each second slit <NUM> is centrally located between two adjacent first slits <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the multiple first slits <NUM> have the same length, and the multiple second slits <NUM> have the same length. In addition, the multiple first slits <NUM> and the multiple second slits <NUM> have the same length. The sum of the length of the first slit <NUM> and the length of the second slit <NUM> is less than a width of the strip-shaped component <NUM>.

In this embodiment, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is located in an appropriate position on an outer surface of the elongated airbag main body <NUM>, so that the resistance of the strip-shaped component <NUM> is easily measured when the airbag main body <NUM> is mounted on the vehicle. In this case, when the airbag main body <NUM> is mounted on the roof of the vehicle, a mounting personnel can easily access the strip-shaped component <NUM> so as to measure the resistance of the strip-shaped component <NUM>. When the airbag main body <NUM> is inflated and deployed, one side surface of the airbag main body <NUM> faces a vehicle compartment, and the other side surface of the airbag main body <NUM> faces a vehicle window. The strip-shaped component <NUM> is generally arranged on a side of the airbag main body <NUM> facing the vehicle compartment.

In this embodiment, the strip-shaped component <NUM> extends along an entire length of the airbag main body <NUM>. The strip-shaped component <NUM> may be a metal, an electrically conductive macromolecular polymer, an electrically conductive film, or an electrically conductive non-woven fabric. Alternatively, the strip-shaped component <NUM> may also be another material having resistance changing when the material deforms.

<FIG> is a schematic view showing a change in resistance of a deformed strip-shaped component <NUM> having different elongations. As shown in <FIG>, a smaller elongation corresponds to a larger change in the resistance. The elongation of the strip-shaped component <NUM> is preferably small. In this case, when the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is prone to break.

<FIG> is a partial enlarged view showing a curtain airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention, and <FIG> is a cross-sectional view showing a curtain airbag according to one embodiment taken along line A-A in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG> and <FIG>, the airbag main body <NUM> includes two airbag main pieces <NUM>. The two airbag main pieces <NUM> are sewn together at an edge region, and seal the air chamber. The strip-shaped component <NUM> is fitted to the airbag main body <NUM> by means of bonding.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view showing a curtain airbag according to another embodiment taken along line A-A in <FIG>. As shown in <FIG>, firstly, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is bonded to the airbag main body <NUM>, and then the strip-shaped component <NUM> and the airbag main body <NUM> are sewn together. In this way, when the airbag main body <NUM> is twisted, the strip-shaped component <NUM> is not prone to fall off from the airbag main body <NUM>. In this example, a stitch <NUM> extends along an entire length of the strip-shaped component <NUM> in a direction parallel to the lengthwise direction of the strip-shaped component <NUM>, and is arranged centrally on the strip-shaped component <NUM> in the widthwise direction of the strip-shaped component <NUM>.

<FIG> is a cross-sectional view showing a curtain airbag according to yet another embodiment of the present invention. As shown in <FIG>, the airbag main body <NUM> is integrally formed, and the strip-shaped component <NUM> is fitted to the airbag main body <NUM> by means of bonding.

Claim 1:
A curtain airbag (<NUM>) for a vehicle, characterized by comprising:
an airbag main body (<NUM>), the airbag main body (<NUM>) defining an air chamber; and
a strip-shaped component (<NUM>), abutting the airbag main body (<NUM>), wherein
the strip-shaped component (<NUM>) is electrically conductive, and is configured to deform or break when the airbag main body (<NUM>) is twisted so that the electrical resistance of the strip-shaped component (<NUM>) changes.