JP2003072508A - Airbag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an airbag device which can be easily fitted to a vehicle body, and reduce the number of part items. SOLUTION: A cover member 7 accommodating an inwardly folded bag body 15 is movably fitted by passing a fitting shaft part 19 protruded on an inner surface through a fitting hole 9 of a vehicle body panel 3 via a clip 11. When the clip 11 is fitted to the shaft part 19, and the shaft part 19 is pressed into the fitting hole 9 together with the clip 11, the clip 11 is fitted to the fitting hole 9 by a first engagement part 31, and the cover member 7 is held at the first position close to the vehicle body panel 3 by engaging a second engagement part 39 of the clip 11 with a first stepped part 21 provided on the shaft part 19 of the cover member 7. In addition, the cover member 7 is held at the second position farther from the vehicle body panel 3 by engaging the second engagement part 39 of the clip 11 with a second stepped part 23 provided on the shaft part 19 of the cover member 7.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an airbag device for inflating a bag between a vehicle body side fixing member and an occupant.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in the event of a side collision of a vehicle (side impact), an airbag is inflated between a side portion of a vehicle body and an occupant to support the occupant's head and to move the occupant's head. An air bag device that absorbs energy is disclosed in, for example, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No.
There is one such as shown in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 115672. In this airbag device, the airbag is housed on the back side of a garnish which is a cover member formed in a partially curved long shape from the front body pillar in the vehicle interior to the roof side.

The garnish is formed into a substantially C-shaped cross section, and forms a space for accommodating an airbag with respect to a skeleton member which is a member on the vehicle body side fixed side. As a part of the attachment means for supporting and fastening the garnish so that it can be separated from the skeleton member, the garnish is integrally formed with holding portions at predetermined positions.

The holding portion is formed in a bottomed cylindrical shape extending from the opening portion of the surface of the garnish toward the skeleton member side which is the back side thereof. A through hole for inserting a fastening bolt for attaching the garnish to the skeleton member is provided at the center of the bottom surface portion of the holding portion. A ring-shaped partition plate is provided in the middle of the inner peripheral surface of the holding part in parallel with the bottom surface part, and a bolt hole for inserting the fastening bolt described above is provided in the center of the partition plate. ing.

A notch is provided over the entire circumference at the portion where the partition plate is attached to the inner peripheral surface of the holding portion. When a tensile force of a certain level or more acts on the garnish, the partition plate is folded down by the fastening bolts. The garnish is separated from the skeleton member by a predetermined distance. A lid for concealing the fastening bolts inside the holding portion is attached to the opening.

Therefore, when an acceleration exceeding a predetermined level is applied to the vehicle, the acceleration sensor detects the acceleration and activates a gas ejection device (not shown), so that gas such as gas is rapidly sent into the airbag. As a result, the airbag is inflated, and the inflating force at this time acts in a direction of separating the garnish from the skeleton member, so that the partition plate is pushed down by the fastening bolt and the garnish is separated from the vehicle body panel. The air bag comes out of the garnish from the space created at this time and inflates.

[0007]

However, in the conventional technique as described above, fastening bolts and nuts are used when the airbag device is attached to the frame member (vehicle body panel), so that the airbag device should be sandwiched from both sides. It is troublesome to install. Especially, when the skeleton member (body panel) has a closed cross section, it cannot be retrofitted. Therefore, it is necessary to attach a nut to a predetermined body panel position, which is troublesome because the number of manufacturing steps and the number of parts are increased. There's a problem. Further, if the fastening bolts are exposed, it is not desirable in terms of appearance, and a component for concealing the fastening bolts is also required, which further increases the number of components.

The object of the present invention was made in view of the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, and an air bag device which can be easily attached to a vehicle body and can reduce the number of parts. To provide.

[0009]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the airbag device of the present invention according to claim 1 expands rapidly inside the cover member mounted on the interior side of the vehicle body panel during operation. An airbag device that folds and stores a bag body that expands into a room from between the vehicle body panel and the cover member, the shaft portion protruding from the inner surface of the cover member, and the shaft portion can be moved. A clip that is held by the vehicle body panel and inserted into a mounting hole provided in the vehicle body panel for mounting, and the clip has a first engaging portion that engages with the edge of the mounting hole and a first engaging portion that engages with the shaft portion. And a second step portion for holding the cover member at a first position near the vehicle body panel by engaging a second engaging portion of the clip with a side surface of the shaft portion. With the provision of the clip A second stepped portion that holds the cover member at a second position apart from the first position by engaging the two engaging portions is provided. is there.

Therefore, the cover member accommodating the bag body folded inside is fitted with a clip on the shaft portion projecting on the inner surface, and is inserted into the mounting hole of the vehicle body panel from the inside of the vehicle compartment, whereby the bolt is attached. -Can be mounted easily and movably without using nuts. That is, when a clip is attached to the shaft portion of the cover member and the shaft portion is pushed together with the clip into the attachment hole of the vehicle body panel from one direction, the clip is attached to the attachment hole of the vehicle body panel by the first engaging portion, and the first portion of the clip is attached. By engaging the two engaging portions with the first step portion provided on the shaft portion of the cover member, the cover member is held and attached at the first position close to the vehicle body panel. Further, by engaging the second engaging portion of the clip with the second step portion provided on the shaft portion of the cover member, the cover member is held at the second position far from the vehicle body panel. Therefore, when the airbag device is not in operation, the cover member is held at the first position, but when the airbag device is activated and the bag body is rapidly inflated, the cover member is in the second position due to the expansion force of the bag body. Since there is a predetermined gap between the cover member and the vehicle body panel after being moved to the position, the bag body is inflated from this gap into the vehicle compartment.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 2 is
The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the clip is formed by bending an elastic metal plate to form a main body having a substantially U-shape, and the clip is formed on both upper ends of the U-shape. Once bent inward to form the first engaging portion, a flange portion is formed outward, and both side walls of the main body portion are vertically cut out to be urged inward by a central portion of the side wall. An elastic arm portion is provided, and the second engaging portion is formed at the tip of the elastic arm portion.

Therefore, the elastic metal plate is bent into a substantially U shape to form the main body of the clip, and the upper end of the U shape is once bent inward to form the first engaging portion and then bent outward. Since the flange portion is formed, the clip can be reliably fixed to the vehicle body panel by the first engaging portion. Further, an elastic arm portion is provided by vertically notching a central portion of a side wall forming a main body portion of the clip, and a second engaging portion provided at a tip end of the elastic arm portion is biased inward to be provided with a shaft portion. By pressing, the shaft portion can be held movably.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 3 is
The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the second engaging portion is folded back downward. Therefore, since the second engaging portion presses the shaft portion at the portion that is folded back downward, the cover member can be firmly held.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 4 is
The airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the first step portion and the second step portion are provided on a pair of side surfaces of the shaft portion that face each other, and the pair of second engaging portions are provided to face the clip. It is characterized by that. Therefore, the shaft portion is sandwiched by the pair of engaging portions, and stable holding can be performed.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 5 is
3. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the second step portion is closer to the elastic arm than the shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the first step portion. The part is located in front of the mounting hole edge,
It is characterized by. Therefore, in the second position, the second engaging portion of the clip holds the first stepped portion provided on the shaft portion of the cover member more than the holding force of the second engaging portion of the clip in the first position. Since the holding force for holding the second step portion is larger and the allowable bending amount of the elastic arm portion is restricted by the edge of the mounting hole, it is possible to guarantee the restriction of the movement beyond the operating range.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 6 is
The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein a first rib or a second rib is provided along both side edges of the first step portion and the second step portion, respectively. Is. Therefore, since ribs are provided on both side edges of the first step portion and the second step portion of the shaft portion of the cover member with which the second engaging portion of the clip engages, ribs of the cover member are actuated when the airbag device operates. Even if the shaft moves with respect to the clip, the second
It is possible to prevent the engaging portion from falling off laterally from the first step portion or the second step portion.

The airbag device of the invention according to claim 7 is
The airbag device according to claim 6, wherein the shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the second rib is shorter than the shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the first rib, and A restriction part is provided between the first engagement part and the flange part so as to contact the second rib and restrict the disengagement of the engagement between the first engagement part and the mounting hole edge. Is. Therefore, the gap between the second rib and the mounting hole edge is narrowed during the operation of the airbag device, and the restriction portion reliably prevents the first engaging portion from coming off from the mounting hole edge. Absent.

[0018]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 5 shows a mounting state of the airbag device 1 according to the present invention (here, a state during operation is shown as an example). The vehicle body panel 3 to which the airbag device 1 is attached is a vehicle interior 5
A garnish 7 that is a cover member is formed at an appropriate position on the vehicle body panel 3 by bending toward the front side.
A mounting hole 9 for mounting is provided.

A garnish 7 is movably mounted in the mounting hole 9 via a clip 11, and an inner space 13 of the garnish 7 is expanded rapidly during operation to protect an occupant from an impact. The bag body 15 is stored. The garnish 7 has a substantially C-shape as a whole, and its surface 7A has a good appearance. Further, at the center of the inner surface of the garnish 7, mounting pedestals 17 for mounting the garnish 7 are provided at predetermined intervals so as to project toward the vehicle body panel 3 side, and the mounting pedestals 17 are inserted into the mounting holes 9 of the vehicle body panel 3. The shaft portion 19 is provided so as to project.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the garnish 7
The shaft portion 19 provided on the mounting pedestal 17 has a rod shape with a rectangular cross section, and the tip (lower end in FIG. 1) is formed in a mountain shape. At a base end portion (upper end in FIG. 1) of the shaft portion 19, a flat first step portion 21 is provided on two parallel side surfaces, and a flat first step portion 21 is provided on a tip end side of the first step portion 21. A two-step portion 23 is provided.

The shortest distance H2 between the second step portion 23 and the mounting hole edge 9a is shorter than the shortest distance H1 between the first step portion 21 and the mounting hole edge 9a. A step h, which is an inclined surface, is provided on the outer side toward the portion 23.
In addition, first ribs 25 are raised on both left and right (left and right in FIG. 1) edge portions of the first step portion 21, respectively.
Second ribs 27 are also erected on both left and right edge portions of the step portion 23. The second rib 27 and the mounting hole edge 9
The shortest distance L2 from a is the first rib 25 and the mounting hole edge 9
It is shorter than the shortest distance L1 from a.

Referring to FIGS. 1 to 4, the clip 11
Is formed by bending an elastic metal plate to form a main body 29 having a substantially U-shape as a whole, and the upper ends of the U-shape of the main body 29 are bent once inside the U-shape. After forming the engaging portion 31, the flange portion 33 is formed outward. Therefore, the clip 11 is securely attached to the vehicle body panel 3 by engaging the first engagement portion 31 with the edge 9 a of the attachment hole 9. In addition, both side walls 3 of the main body 29
An elastic arm portion 37 that is urged toward the inside of the U-shape is provided in the central portion of the side wall 35 by notching 5 in the vertical direction, and a second engaging portion 39 is provided at the tip of this elastic arm portion 37. At this time, the above-mentioned first engaging portions 31 provided on both sides of the elastic arm portion 37 are provided with restricting portions 31a protruding inwardly facing each other.

The second engaging portion 39 is formed by bending the inside of the U-shape and then folding back downward. The second engaging portion 39 is formed by the elastic force of the elastic arm portion 37. 1
9 is pressed against 9 to hold the shaft portion 19, and the shaft portion 1
When the pulling force of a certain amount or more is applied to 9, it can move smoothly without being caught.

Further, first ribs 25 and second ribs 27 are provided on the left and right edge portions of the first step portion 21 and the second step portion 23 of the shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7, respectively. Since the ribs 25 and 27 also serve as guides, the shaft portion 1
When the second engaging portion 39 of the clip 11 relatively moves along the line 9, it can move stably. Furthermore, rather than the height of the first rib 25 of the first step portion 21 of the shaft portion 19,
Since the height of the second rib 27 of the second step portion 23 is higher (that is, closer to the mounting hole edge 9a), the second engaging portion 39 of the clip 11 moves laterally from the second step portion 23 during operation. It can be surely prevented from falling off.

Next, referring to FIG. 1 and FIG. 2 together with FIG. 3, a method of mounting the airbag device 1 will be described.
The shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7 shown in FIG. 1 is fitted into the clip 11. That is, the second engaging portion 39 provided at the tip of the clip 11 is the second step portion 23 of the shaft portion 19.
At the same time as the first rib 21 of the shaft portion 19 is engaged with the first step portion 21 of the shaft portion 19, the restriction portion 31a provided on the first engagement portion 31 of the clip 11 rides over the second rib 27 of the shaft portion 19 and Reach the area of the ribs 25. This ensures that the clip 11 is securely attached to the shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7, as shown in FIG.

Subsequently, as shown in FIG. 2, the shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7 to which the clip 11 is attached,
It is pushed together with the clip 11 into a mounting hole 9 provided at a predetermined position of the vehicle body panel 3. As a result, as shown in FIG. 3, the first engaging portion 31 of the clip 11 engages with the mounting hole edge 9a to hold the vehicle body panel 3,
The garnish 7 is attached to a first position (a non-operating position) near the vehicle body panel 3 via the clip 11. In order for the second engaging portion 39 of the clip 11 to get over the step h at the boundary between the first step portion 21 and the second step portion 23, the pulling force above a certain level as when the airbag apparatus 1 is operated. Therefore, the garnish 7 is reliably held at the first position close to the vehicle body panel 3 when the airbag device 1 is not operated.

Referring to FIG. 4, when the airbag device 1 is actuated and the bag body 15 is rapidly inflated, the garnish 7 is pushed out toward the passenger compartment (upper side in FIG. 4) by this expanding force. That is, the expansion force at this time is
Since the second engaging portion 39 of No. 1 exceeds the pulling force required to overcome the step h of the shaft portion 19, the second engaging portion 3
9 moves to the second step portion 23 over the step h, and holds the garnish 7 at the second position apart from the vehicle body panel 3. Since the thickness of the second step portion 23 is thicker than the thickness of the first step portion 21, the pressing force of the second engaging portion 39 against the second step portion 23 increases, and the shaft is surely moved. The part 19 can be held.

When the second engaging portion 39 gets over the step h,
When moved to the step portion 23, the second engaging portion 39 is folded back inward of the U shape, and therefore strikes the stopper wall 41 on the lower side (lower side in FIG. 4) of the second step portion 23. As a result, the garnish 7 is held at the second position where a constant gap G is maintained between the garnish 7 and the vehicle body panel 3. Even if a stronger pulling force acts on the garnish 7, the second engaging portion 39 is in contact with the mounting hole edge 9a of the vehicle body panel 3 and cannot move further outward, and the second engaging portion 39
Since it is bent inward and then folded back downward, it cannot be pulled out from between the shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7 and the vehicle body panel 3, so that the shaft portion 19 of the garnish 7 does not fall off the clip 11. . Also,
Clip 1 engaging with mounting hole edge 9a of the vehicle body panel
Since the restricting portion 31a of the first first engaging portion 31 abuts on the second rib 27 of the shaft portion 19, the first engaging portion 31 cannot be displaced inward, and the clip 11 is removed from the mounting hole 9. It does not fall out. Therefore, the garnish 7 is securely held by the vehicle body panel 3.

From the above results, when the garnish 7 is attached to the vehicle body panel 3, it is not necessary to perform the attaching work from both sides as in the conventional case, and the attachment hole 9 of the vehicle body panel 3 is moved by unidirectional movement from the inside of the vehicle compartment. Since it can be installed, it can be easily installed. Further, since the nut is not used unlike the conventional case, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

The present invention is not limited to the embodiments of the invention described above, but can be implemented in other modes by making appropriate changes.

[0031]

As described above, in the airbag device according to the present invention, when the cover member is attached to the vehicle body panel, it is not necessary to perform the attaching work from both sides as in the conventional case, and the cover member can be installed in one direction from the inside of the vehicle compartment. Since it can be attached to the vehicle body panel by movement, it can be easily attached.
Further, since the nut is not used unlike the conventional case, the number of parts can be reduced and the cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an exploded perspective view showing a main part of an airbag device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a garnish is attached to a clip before being attached to a vehicle body panel.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a state in which a garnish is attached to a vehicle body panel via a clip.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing the relationship between the garnish, the clip, and the vehicle body panel when the airbag device is activated.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of an airbag device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Air bag device 3 body panel 7 Garnish (cover member) 9 mounting holes 9a Mounting hole edge 11 clips 15 bags 19 Shaft 21 First Stage 23 Second Stage 25 First Rib 27 Second rib 29 Main body 31 first engaging portion 31a Regulation Department 33 Flange 37 Elastic arm 39 Second engaging portion

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    F-term (reference) 3D054 AA18 BB30                 3J022 DA04 DA12 DA14 EA18 EB02                       EB14 EC23 ED06 ED26 FA02                       FB03 FB08 FB12 FB16 HA02                       HB02 HB06                 3J037 AA02 BA01 BB02 DA04 DB01

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. An air bag, which is folded and housed inside a cover member attached to an interior side of a vehicle body panel, which folds and expands rapidly during operation and expands into a room from between the vehicle body panel and the cover member. In the back device, a shaft portion is provided so as to project from the inner surface of the cover member, and a clip that is movably held and is inserted into a mounting hole provided in the vehicle body panel is attached. The clip is provided with a first engaging portion that engages with the mounting hole edge and a second engaging portion that engages with the shaft portion, and a second engaging portion of the clip is provided on a side surface of the shaft portion. A first step portion is provided to hold the cover member at a first position close to the vehicle body panel by engaging the same, and a second engaging portion of the clip engages the cover member to the vehicle body panel. From the first position An air bag device, comprising a second step portion for holding the second step apart from the back. 2. The clip is formed by bending an elastic metal plate to form a substantially U-shaped main body, and both upper ends of the U-shape of the main body are once bent inwardly. After forming the first engaging portion, a flange portion is formed toward the outside, both side walls of the main body portion are cut out in the vertical direction, and an elastic arm portion biased inward is provided at the center portion of the side wall, The airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the second engaging portion is formed at a tip of the elastic arm portion. 3. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein an upper portion of the second engaging portion is folded back downward. 4. The first step portion and the second step portion are provided on a pair of opposing side surfaces of the shaft portion, and a pair of second step portions are provided on the clip.
The engaging portions are provided so as to face each other.
The airbag device described in. 5. The shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the second step portion is closer than the shortest distance of the first step portion to the mounting hole edge, and the elastic arm portion is set to the mounting hole edge. The airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the airbag device is located in front of the airbag device. 6. The air according to claim 2, wherein first ribs or second ribs are provided along both side edges of the first step portion and the second step portion, respectively. Back device. 7. The shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the second rib is shorter than the shortest distance to the mounting hole edge of the first rib, and the first engaging portion of the clip and the flange. 7. The air according to claim 6, further comprising: a restricting portion that is in contact with the second rib and that restricts disengagement of the engagement between the first engaging portion and the mounting hole edge. Back device.