JPH10129390A - Manufacturing device for air bag device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To easily and firmly fix the cover body of an air bag device to a base plate. SOLUTION: Prefabricated base plate 11 and cover body 12 are placed on a support table and pressed by a base plate press body to position and hold it. The press part 77 of a caulking tool 76 arranged in a state to surround the base plate 11 is advanced, the lock parts 31 of the base plate 11 are caulked, and inserted in the lock hole part 45 of the cover body 12 for locking. In the press parts 77, the press parts 77 arranged opposite to each other on both sides of the base plate 11 are driven in a preceding manner and the press part 77 is engaged with the base plate 11 for positioning and holding.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an apparatus for manufacturing an airbag apparatus in which an inflating and deploying airbag is covered with a cover.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an airbag device provided in, for example, a steering wheel of an automobile and protecting an occupant from the impact of a collision has been used. The airbag device includes a base plate fixed to a steering wheel body, an inflator (gas generator) attached to the base plate, an airbag folded and stored so as to cover the inflator, And a cover attached to the base plate covering the base plate. When an impact such as a collision is received, the gas rapidly flows into the airbag from the inflator to inflate and expand the airbag. Is deployed in a predetermined direction, that is, in front of the occupant, so that the shock applied to the occupant is reduced and protected. In addition, the cover body is provided with a covering portion that covers the airbag, and a mounting piece projecting from the covering portion, and the mounting piece is formed around the base plate using a number of rivets. It is fixed to the support piece.

However, such a configuration in which the cover body is fixed to the base plate by using a large number of rivets has a problem that the number of parts increases, the assembling process becomes complicated, and it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost. ing.

In this respect, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-237517
Is known. This configuration,
The supporting piece of the base plate is folded back along the end of the mounting piece of the cover body, and the supporting piece is caulked to clamp and fix the mounting piece of the cover body.
Then, for the step of fixing the cover body to the base plate, a pressing portion that moves vertically and presses the cover body from above, and converts the pressing force in the vertical direction to the horizontal direction to remove the support piece portion. A manufacturing apparatus including a cam slide device for tightening is used.

However, in such a manufacturing apparatus,
A mechanism to smoothly change the direction of the pressing force is required, and a fine adjustment of the force for caulking the support piece is required.
There is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost due to the complicated structure.

[0006]

As described above, the configuration using a large number of rivets for fixing the cover body increases the number of parts, complicates the assembly process, and makes it difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost. Have. Further, in the manufacturing apparatus described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 7-52738, a mechanism for smoothly changing the direction of the pressing force is required, and fine adjustment of the force for caulking the support piece is required, and the structure is complicated. For example, there is a problem that it is difficult to reduce the manufacturing cost.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and has as its object to provide an airbag device capable of easily and firmly attaching a cover to a support member.

[0008]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for manufacturing an airbag apparatus, wherein a cover member for covering an airbag which is inflated and deployed by inflow of gas is mounted on a support member. A pressing means provided with a pressing portion capable of moving forward and backward, the pressing portion presses a locking piece provided on the support member to plastically deform, and is inserted into a locking hole provided on the cover body. And at least one of the locking piece and the locking hole is engaged to position and support the support member and the cover body.

In this configuration, the cover is firmly attached to the support member by inserting and locking the locking piece provided on the support member into the engagement hole provided in the cover. Since the pressing portion that presses the locking piece and plastically deforms also serves as a positioning member, the cover body and the support member are accurately positioned and held, and the number of parts is reduced and the configuration is simplified. Further, since the locking piece is locked in the locking hole, which is a hole, it is not necessary to manage delicate dimensions such as the bending angle of the locking piece.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag apparatus manufacturing apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a plurality of opposing pressing means are provided, and these pressing means operate substantially simultaneously with each other. Things.

In this configuration, the supporting members and the cover body are stably and reliably positioned and supported by operating the opposing pressing means almost simultaneously.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided the airbag apparatus manufacturing apparatus according to the second aspect, wherein a pair of opposing pressing means which operate substantially simultaneously with each other, and which operate after the pressing means. And a plurality of pressing means.

[0013] In this configuration, while the cover body is stably and surely positioned and supported by the pair of opposing pressing means, a plurality of locking pieces are formed in the locking holes by the other plurality of pressing means. It is inserted and locked, and the cover body is firmly held.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided an airbag apparatus manufacturing apparatus according to any one of the first to third aspects, wherein the airbag apparatus holds one of the support member and the cover member and holds the supporting member. And holding means for pressing the member to the other member.

In this configuration, the holding means
The structure is simplified by pressing the held member toward the other member while holding one member of the support member and the cover body.

[0016]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

First, an assembled airbag device and a steering wheel to which the airbag device is mounted will be described with reference to FIGS.

2 and 3, reference numeral 1 denotes a steering wheel of an automobile.
Is composed of a steering wheel main body 2, an airbag device 3 attached to the occupant side of the steering wheel main body 2, that is, the front side. In addition,
The steering wheel 1 is attached to a steering shaft S which is tilted so as to be appropriately adjustable, and is normally used in a tilted state.
The description will be made on the assumption that the occupant side on which the vehicle is mounted is the upper side and the vehicle body side is the lower side. And the steering wheel body 2
It is formed of an annular rim 5, a boss 6 located inside the rim 5, and a plurality of spokes 7 connecting the rim 5 and the boss 6.

As shown in FIG. 3, a boss 8 fitted to the steering shaft S is provided below the boss 6.
The boss 8 is provided with a boss plate 9 separately or integrally fixed thereto, and the airbag device 3 is attached to the boss plate 9 via a horn switch mechanism (not shown). Further, the lower side of the boss 6 is covered with a lower cover 10.

The airbag device 3 includes a base plate 11 as a support member, a cover 12, an airbag 15, and an inflator 16 attached to the base plate 11.

The base plate 11 is formed by press-forming a metal plate as shown in the explanatory view of FIG. 1, FIG. 2 and FIG. It is formed in a substantially box shape from a peripheral plate portion 22 which is bent downward from the outer peripheral portion as a predetermined direction and protrudes. Also,
A circular hole-shaped inflator through hole 23 is formed in the substrate portion 21, and a plurality of through holes 24 are formed around the inflator through hole 23. Further, a bracket (not shown) is provided on both sides of the peripheral plate 22 or on the lower surface of the substrate 21, and the bracket is attached to the boss plate 9 of the steering wheel body 2 or the like.

From the lower end of each side of the peripheral plate portion 22, the front and rear sides, both sides, and each side between both sides and the rear side are located.
Plates are extended from one or more places, respectively.
A holding portion 25 having a substantially U-shaped cross section is integrally formed.
That is, the holding portion 25 includes an inner plate portion 26 integral with the peripheral plate portion 22 and an outer plate portion 27 facing the outside of the inner plate portion 26 in parallel.
And a horizontal connecting piece 28 connecting the lower ends of the inner plate 26 and the outer plate 27 to each other. A substantially rectangular opposing hole 29 is formed in the inner plate portion 26, and a locking piece portion 31 is formed in the outer plate portion 27 so as to face each opposing hole 29.
Are cut and raised integrally. The locking piece 31 is formed by being connected to the outer plate 27 by a fold line that is bent at substantially right angles with the vertical direction, that is, the direction in which the airbag 15 projects as the longitudinal direction. Furthermore, this locking piece
The lower end of 31 (the upper end in FIG. 1) is bent substantially at a right angle to form a horizontal contact portion 33.

On the other hand, the cover body 12 is integrally formed of synthetic resin, and the boss 6 of the steering wheel body 2 is formed.
And a curved covering portion 41 covering a part of the spoke portion 7
And a rectangular tubular mounting piece 42 projecting vertically downward from the lower surface of the covering portion 41. The portion enclosed between the covering portion 41 and the inside of the mounting piece portion 42 is a storage space for the airbag 15 and faces the storage space for the airbag 15 so that the covering portion 41 A weak tear line 44 having a substantially H-shape in a plan view is formed on the lower surface of the device. Further, a locking hole 45 is formed in the mounting piece 42 of the cover body 12 so as to correspond to the position of the locking piece 31 and the facing hole 29 of the base plate 11.

The airbag 15 is formed, for example, in a flat bag shape by sewing two base cloths together, and has a circular gas inlet 15a at the center bottom. A retainer 48, which is an annular holding member, is inserted from the gas inlet 15a, and the periphery of the gas inlet 15a is pressed against the base plate 11 side.

Further, the inflator 16 includes a main body 51 having a substantially columnar shape.
A plurality of gas injection ports 53 for projecting a gas are formed on the upper side of the flange portion 52 in addition to the projection 52.

Next, an assembling process of this embodiment will be described.

First, a bolt (not shown) protruding from a retainer 48 inserted inside the airbag 15 is inserted into a through hole 24 formed around the inflator through hole 23 of the base plate, and rivets or the like are used. With the inflator through hole 23 and the gas inlet 15a aligned with each other, the airbag 15 is attached to the upper surface of the base plate 21 of the base plate 11, and the airbag 15 is folded small so that the airbag 15 fits on the base plate 21. .

Further, as shown in FIG.
11, while bending the contact portion 33 to make it horizontal, the vertical fold line is not bent, and the locking piece 31 is pressed with the inner plate portion 26 in a flat state, The cover body 12 is placed over the base plate 11 to which the airbag 15 is attached and pressed in, and the mounting piece 42 is fitted to the outer peripheral portion of the peripheral plate 22. At this time, the lower end of the mounting piece 42 of the cover body 12 abuts on the connecting piece 28 of the holding part 25 of the base plate 11, and
The lower portion of the mounting piece 42 is sandwiched between the inner plate 26 and the outer plate 27 that face each other. Then, in this state, a caulking force inward is applied to each locking piece 31 by using a manufacturing apparatus 61 described later. Then, the locking pieces 31 are bent at substantially right angles (caulked, that is, plastically deformed) at the folding line of each holding section 25, and each locking piece 31 is locked by the locking hole 45 of the cover body 12. And the lower end of the locking piece 31, that is, the contact portion 33 is
It comes into contact with the bottom surface of 45 in a planar manner. Further, in this state, each locking piece 31 is inserted into and engaged with the locking hole 45 of the inner plate 26.

Then, in this state, the locking piece 31 and the contacting part 33 of the base plate 11 are attached to the mounting piece 42 of the cover 12.
, And the upward movement of the cover body 12 is prevented, and the work of attaching the cover body 12 to the base plate 11 is completed.

Subsequently, from the lower side of the base plate 11, the upper part of the main body 51 of the inflator 16 is inserted into the through hole for the inflator.
23 and the gas inlet 15a, and the flange 52 is fixed together with a nut screwed to the bolt of the retainer 48, for example, and the assembly is completed.

When an impact such as a collision is applied to the vehicle, a control unit (not shown) activates the inflator 16 and rapidly injects gas from the gas injection port 53 into the airbag 15. Then, the airbag 15 is rapidly inflated, and the pressure of this inflation causes the cover body 12 to be cleaved from the tear line 44, and protrudes outside the cover body 12 in a predetermined direction, that is, upward. Further, the airbag 15 is inflated and deployed in front of the occupant to absorb and reduce the impact applied to the occupant.

Next, a manufacturing apparatus 61 used to fix the cover body 12 to the base plate 11 will be described with reference to FIGS.
This will be described with reference to FIG.

As shown in FIG. 4 and the like, the manufacturing apparatus 61 is a so-called rivetless caulking machine, and is constituted by connecting a plate-like base plate 62 and a top plate 63 with a plurality of columns 64 as a whole. Have been.

At a substantially central portion on the base plate 62, a receiving base (product receiving) 66 having a receiving surface 65 corresponding to the outer shape of the covering portion 41 of the cover body 12 is fixed.

A base plate pressing mechanism 68 as a holding means is attached to the top plate 63 so as to face the upper surface of the receiving table 66. And this base plate pressing mechanism
68 includes an upper cylinder 70 driven by air pressure or hydraulic pressure, and a base plate pressing body 71 driven by the upper cylinder 70 toward the receiving surface 65 of the receiving base 66. The base plate pressing body 71 is fitted from the upper side to the back surface of the base plate 11 turned upside down, and can hold the base plate 11 and can be pressed downward.

Further, a plurality of caulking mechanisms 74 as pressing means are provided on the support 64 so as to surround the periphery of the receiving base 66.
Is attached. Then, these caulking mechanisms 74
Is an air cylinder (fitting cylinder) 75, which is a cylinder driven by air pressure or hydraulic pressure, and a swaging tool which is moved forward and backward by the air cylinder 75 toward the receiving base 66.
It has 76. Each caulking tool 76 is provided with one or a plurality of pressing portions 77 facing the locking pieces 31 of the base plate 11, respectively. That is, each pressing portion 77 presses the locking piece 31 from the outer peripheral side to plastically deform the locking piece 31, and the locking piece 31 faces the locking hole 45 of the mounting piece 42 of the cover body 12 and the base plate 11. Each pressing portion 77 itself is inserted into the hole 29 and locked, and the pressing portion 77 itself is inserted into the hole of the outer plate portion 27 formed by cutting and raising the locking piece portion 31, the locking hole portion 45, and the facing hole 29, and fitted. Are to be combined. The pressing portion 77 has a substantially prismatic shape, and has an inclined surface portion (chamfered) or a curved surface portion (a chamfered portion) at the distal end, as appropriate, in accordance with the bending angle of the locking piece 31 or the like. R). Note that, in this embodiment, the inclined surface portion corresponds to the position of the folding line of the locking piece portion 31.
78 are formed.

The upper cylinder 70 and each of the air cylinders 75 are connected to and controlled by control means (not shown) having a CPU and the like, and are driven at a predetermined timing.

When using this manufacturing apparatus 61,
First, a product in a temporarily assembled state in which the mounting piece 42 of the cover body 12 is fitted to the holding portion 25 of the base plate 11 on which the airbag 15 is folded and attached is prepared, and as shown in FIG. It is inverted and placed on the receiving table 66.

Subsequently, the base plate pressing body 71 retracted upward moves down to fit inside the base plate 11 and press the product onto the receiving surface 65. In this state,
The connecting piece 28 of the holding portion 25 of the base plate 11 is
Abuts against the end of the mounting piece 42, and the height position of the cover body 12 is positioned and held.

Next, each air cylinder 75 is driven to advance the caulking tool 76 sequentially, and each pressing piece 77 is pressed inwardly by the pressing portion 77 (caulking), and the cover body 12 is fixed to the base plate 11. . At this time, as shown in FIG. 7, first, the caulking tools 76 (A,
A) is advanced, and the locking pieces 31 on both sides are caulked, and the pressing portions 77 of these caulking tools 76 are attached to the base plate.
11 and the cover body 12, the base plate 11 and the cover body 12 are firmly held, and subsequently, the caulking tools 76 (B, B ) And the caulking tools 76 (C, C) arranged at an angle are simultaneously advanced to caulk all the locking pieces 31.

Thereafter, the caulking tools 76 are simultaneously or sequentially retracted outward, and the base plate pressing body 71 is further retracted upward, whereby the product in which the cover body 12 is fixed to the base plate 11 by caulking is taken out. It is.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the temporarily assembled base plate 11 and cover body 12 can be fixed by caulking using an automated machine. As compared with the process using a large number of rivets, the manufacturing process can be simplified, the number of parts can be reduced, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

When caulking the plurality of locking pieces 31, first, the caulking tools 76 (A, A) on the opposite sides are used.
Are simultaneously driven into a caulked state, whereby the base plate 11 and the cover body 12 can be firmly positioned and held by the pressing portions 77 of these caulking tools 76. In this state, the caulking tools 76 (C, C) and the like which are arranged not to be opposed to each other but to be inclined can be securely caulked, and the cover body 12 can be firmly held. Therefore, it is possible to caulk the base plate and the cover body of various shapes, and it is possible to increase the degree of freedom in designing the airbag device 3.

Further, since the base plate 11 and the cover body 12 can be firmly positioned and held by these caulking tools 76, other positioning members (holding members) can be simplified.
The configuration of the device can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

Each locking piece 31 is a locking hole which is a hole.
Since it is inserted into the 45 and locked, there is no need to control delicate dimensions such as the bending angle of the locking piece 31, and it is not necessary to strictly adjust the protruding dimension of the caulking tool 76. It becomes possible to use cylinders, etc., simplifying the manufacturing process,
Manufacturing costs can be reduced.

Further, by pushing the base plate 11 toward the cover body 12 with the base plate pressing body 71 of the base plate pressing mechanism 68 which moves up and down in the vertical direction, positioning and holding of the combined position can be performed. Can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

The folding line of the locking piece 31 of each holding portion 25 is bent along the folding line along the direction in which the airbag 15 protrudes. Even when the upward force is applied via the cover body 12 when the cover 12 is pushed upward, no force is applied in the direction in which the folding line is bent, and the cover body 12 can be firmly connected to the base plate 11 and held. Therefore, it is not necessary to manufacture the base plate 11 using a member having an unnecessarily high rigidity, so that the manufacturing cost or the weight can be reduced.

In the above-described embodiment, the positioning is performed by simultaneously driving and caulking the opposing caulking tools 76 on both sides, and then the remaining caulking tools 76 (B, B, C) , C) are driven at the same time, but the drive timing, time lag, and the like of the caulking tool 76 can be variously controlled according to the product shape. For example, it is possible to drive all the caulking tools 76 at the same time, or to drive the opposing caulking tools 76 simultaneously or sequentially, and then drive the non-opposing caulking tools 76 last.

The number and the shape of the locking pieces 31 formed on each holding portion 25 of the base plate 11 can also take various forms. For example, the contact portion 33 may not be formed.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, the base plate pressing body 71 of the base plate pressing mechanism 68 is configured to simply fit inside the base plate 11, but a mechanism for holding the base plate 11 by engaging or the like is provided. You can also. For example, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG.
A pair of miniature cylinders 81, which are small cylinders, are built in the base plate pressing body 71, and the contact holding parts (workpieces) that are driven by these miniature cylinders 81 and protrude and retract from the side portions of the base plate pressing body 71 to both sides ) 82 is provided. In this configuration, with the base plate pressing body 71 pressed against the back surface of the base plate 11, the miniature cylinder 81 is driven to drive the contact holding portion.
The base plate 11 can be firmly held by pressing the 82 against the inner surface of the peripheral plate portion 22.

The arrangement and the number of the miniature cylinders 81 and the contact holding portions 82 are not limited to the configuration in which they protrude from the side surface of the base plate pressing body 71 on both sides, and may be any positions where they do not interfere with the caulking tool 76. Fig. 9
As shown in FIG. 9 (b), the structure moves up and down, and FIG.
As shown in FIG. 9 (c), a configuration of moving back and forth in an inclined direction, or a configuration of projecting in four directions as shown in FIG. 9 (d) can be adopted.

The airbag device is not applied only to the steering wheel of an automobile. For example, an airbag device for an occupant in a passenger seat provided in an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat, a seat, a door, and the like are provided. The present invention can be applied to an airbag device, and further to a moving body other than a vehicle.

[0053]

According to the apparatus for manufacturing an airbag device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the locking piece provided on the support member is inserted into the engaging hole provided on the cover body and locked, thereby providing a cover. The body can be firmly attached to the support member. Since the pressing portion that presses the locking piece to plastically deform also serves as the positioning member, the cover and the support member can be accurately positioned and held, and the number of parts can be reduced and the configuration can be simplified. In addition, since the locking piece is locked in the locking hole, which is a hole, it is not necessary to manage delicate dimensions such as the bending angle of the locking piece, thereby simplifying the manufacturing process and reducing the manufacturing cost. Can be reduced.

According to the apparatus for manufacturing an airbag device of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the first aspect, the support member and the cover body can be stably and reliably operated by operating the opposing pressing means almost simultaneously. Can be positioned and supported.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, in addition to the effect of the second aspect, the cover body is positioned and supported stably and surely by the opposing pressing means, and a plurality of other airbag apparatuses are provided. A plurality of locking pieces can be inserted into the locking holes and locked by the pressing means, and the cover body can be firmly held.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of any one of the first to third aspects, the holding means holds one of the support member and the cover member while holding the other member. The structure can be simplified, and the manufacturing cost can be reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing one embodiment of a manufacturing apparatus of an airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of a steering wheel provided with the airbag device.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the airbag device, taken along the line AA in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a configuration diagram of a manufacturing device of the airbag device.

FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of a part of a manufacturing device of the airbag device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a part of an apparatus for manufacturing the airbag device.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory view of a part of the manufacturing device of the airbag device.

FIG. 8 is a partial perspective view showing another embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the airbag device of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view showing another embodiment of the manufacturing apparatus of the airbag device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 3 Airbag Device 11 Base Plate as Supporting Member 12 Cover Body 15 Airbag 31 Locking Piece 45 Locking Hole 61 Manufacturing Apparatus 68 Base Plate Pressing Mechanism as Holding Device 74 Caulking Mechanism as Pressing Device 77 Pressing Portion

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. An apparatus for manufacturing an airbag device, comprising: a support member provided with a cover member that covers an airbag that is inflated and deployed by inflow of a gas to a support member, comprising: pressing means provided with a pressing portion that can move forward and backward. Presses a locking piece provided on the support member to plastically deform it, inserts it into a locking hole provided in the cover body and locks the same, and fixes the locking piece and the locking hole. An apparatus for manufacturing an airbag device, wherein the support member and the cover body are positioned and supported by engaging at least one of them. 2. A plurality of opposing pressing means are provided,
2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein said pressing means operate substantially simultaneously with each other. 3. The manufacturing of the airbag device according to claim 2, further comprising a pair of opposing pressing means which operate substantially simultaneously with each other, and a plurality of pressing means which operate after the pressing means. apparatus. 4. A holding means for holding one of the support member and the cover body and pressing the held member toward the other member. An apparatus for manufacturing the airbag device according to any one of the above.