The present invention relates to a passenger-protecting apparatus for protecting a passenger against a collision, sitting in a seat of a vehicle such as an automobile, and more specifically, it relates to a passenger-protecting apparatus formed such that the waist of a passenger is constrained upon a frontal collision so as to prevent the body of the passenger from moving forwards and downwards.
As a protecting system for protecting a passenger in an automobile against a collision, in order to prevent a submarine phenomenon, under which, upon a frontal collision, the passenger is likely to move through under a lap belt even when wearing the seat belt, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-217818 discloses a passenger-protecting apparatus having a structure in which an inflatable bag is disposed between a seat cushion and a seat pan and, and upon a car collision, the front part of the seat cushion is pushed up by inflating the bag.
When the inflator 106 is operated upon a car collision, since the airbag 104 is inflated, the front part of the seat pad 102 is pushed up or prodded up and hence the density thereof increases, thereby preventing (including inhibiting) the body of the passenger form moving forwards.
In the passenger-protecting apparatus disclosed in the foregoing Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 10-217818, since the bag, and the inflator, and so forth are disposed on the seat pan, the seat pan has irregularities generated on the upper surface thereof, and a seat-occupying person feels the irregularities via the seat cushion, thereby possibly making the seat uncomfortable to sit.
Also, when the bag, the inflator, and so forth are fixed or maintained, the seat cushion must be removed from the upper side of the seat pan, thereby causing poor workability.
The present invention has an object to provide a passenger-protecting apparatus with which poor seat-sitting comfortability is prevented and in which a fixing work, a maintenance work, and the like can be performed with good workability.
A passenger-protecting apparatus according to one aspect of the present invention includes a bag which is disposed under the front part of a supporting member supporting a seat cushion and which is inflatable so as to push up the supporting member from below; and an inflator inflating the bag at the time of a car emergency. When the front part of the supporting member is pushed up by the inflated bag, the front part of the seat cushion is pressed from below.
In one form of the passenger protecting apparatus, the supporting member is a seat pan and seat springs, and when the bag is inflated, the seat pan and the seat springs are pushed upwards.
In another form, the supporting member is seat springs connected to a seat pan and extending in the front-back direction. When the bag is inflated, the connection between the front ends of the seat springs and the seat pan is released and the front parts of the seat springs are pushed upwards.
In another form, the supporting member is seat springs extending in the left-right direction and having both ends thereof connected to the frame sections of a seat. When the bag is inflated, the connection between both ends of the seat springs and the frame sections is released and the seat springs are pushed upwards.
In yet another form, the supporting member is a seat pan, and when the bag is inflated, the seat pan is pushed upward while being deformed.
In one preferred form of the above-described passenger protecting apparatus, the seat pan has deformation-accelerating means provided therein for accelerating the upward deformation thereof.
The deformation-accelerating means may be a slit disposed along the periphery of a predetermined deformation area of the seat pan.
Alternatively, the deformation-accelerating means may be a pleat-shaped portion disposed along the periphery of the predetermined deformation area of the seat pan.
In another form, the supporting member is a seat pan, and the seat pan has an opening perforated therein above the bag, for allowing the inflated bag to pass upwards therethrough, and a plate disposed thereon so as to cover the opening. When the bag is inflated, the plate is pushed upwards.
In each of the passenger-protecting apparatuses according to the present invention, when the bag is inflated, the supporting member is pushed up by the bag. With this, the front part of the seat cushion is pressed from below. As a result, the front part of the seat cushion has a higher density because of being pushed up or pressed from below, thereby preventing or inhibiting the waist of a passenger from moving forwards.
In each of the passenger-protecting apparatuses according to the present invention, since the bag is disposed under the supporting member of the seat cushion, a seat-occupying person does not feel a foreign-body sensation and hence sits in a seat comfortably.
Also, on the occasion of fixing or maintaining the bag, its work can be conducted without removing the seat cushion from above of the supporting member, thereby resulting in very satisfactory workability.
In one form, when the bag is inflated, the seat pan and the seat springs are pushed upwards. Because of having a smaller stiffness than the seat pan in general, the seat springs are quickly pushed upwards when pushed by the bag from below. Also, since the seat pan is also pushed up, a state of the seat cushion being pushed from below continues even after inflation of the bag.
In another form, since the front ends of the seat springs are disengaged from the seat pan and pushed upward when the bag is inflated, this upward pushing is very quickly achieved. Also, even when an upward pressing force of the bag is relatively small, the seat cushion is sufficiently pressed from below.
In another form, since both ends of the seat springs are disengaged from the frame portions of the seat and pushed upwards when the bag is inflated, this upward pushing is achieved very quickly. Also, even when an upward pressing force of the bag is relatively small, the seat cushion is sufficiently pressed from below.
In yet another form, since the seat pan supporting the seat cushion is pushed and deformed by the bag, a state of the seat cushion being pushed from below continues even after inflation of the bag.
In another form, since an upward deformation of the seat pan is accelerated upon inflation of the bag, the front part of the seat cushion is quickly pushed upwards or made hard.
The deformation-accelerating means can be easily formed in the seat pan.
Meanwhile, by selecting the structure including the shape, the size, and the arrangement of the slit or the pleat-shaped portion where appropriate, for example, the bulging shape, the bulging direction, and the bulging height of the predetermined deformation area from the upper surface of the seat pan when pushed up by the bag can be controlled.
In another form, since the plate is pushed up when the bag is inflated, the area above the plate, of the front part of the seat cushion is relatively evenly pushed up or made hard.
Also, since the bag is inflated upwards while passing through the opening, the upward movement of the plate is quickly achieved, and even when the bag has a low inflation pressure, the front part of the seat cushion is sufficiently pressed.
FIGS. 3(a) and 3(b) illustrate sectional views taken along line IIIA-IIIA indicated in
FIGS. 7(a) and 7(b) illustrate sectional views taken along line VIIA-VIIA indicated in
FIGS. 11(a) and 11(b) illustrate sectional views of the base frame shown in
FIGS. 14(a) and 14(b) illustrate sectional views of the base frame shown in
FIGS. 16(a) and 16(b) illustrates sectional views of the base frame shown in
FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b) illustrate sectional views of another example structure of a pleat-shaped portion, respectively, in the inflation and non-inflation states of the bag.
Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the attached drawings.
A frame constituting a seat of the automobile includes a base frame 1 and a back frame (not shown) rotatably connected to the rear part of the base frame 1 having a reclining device (not shown) interposed therebetween. The back frame has a headrest (not shown) fixed at the upper part thereof.
The base frame 1 includes a pair of side frames 2 and 3 extending in the front-back direction along both sides of the seat. The side frames 2 and 3 have a seat pan 4 disposed over the front ends thereof. The rear ends of the side frames 2 and 3 are connected to each other with a shaft 5.
In the present embodiment, the seat pan 4 extends relatively short in the front-back direction. The seat pan 4 and the shaft 5 have a plurality of seat springs (hereinafter, simply referred to springs) 6 stretched over therebetween in a large number of rows. Each spring 6 extends in the front-back direction while snaking its way from side to side like drawing a letter S and has one end connected to the rear end of the seat pan 4 and the other end connected to the shaft 5.
Although not shown, the base frame 1 and the back frame have a seat cushion and a seat bag placed thereon, composed of urethane or the like. The seat pan 4 and the springs 6 support the seat cushion from below. In other words, in the present embodiment, the seat pan 4 and the springs 6 constitute a supporting member of the seat cushion. The supporting member has a passenger-protecting apparatus 10 disposed under the front part thereof (a section extending from the seat pan 4 to the front ends of the springs 6).
The passenger-protecting apparatus 10 includes a container-shaped retainer 11 opened upwards, an inflatable bag 12 folded and accommodated in the retainer 11, an inflator (not shown) inflating the bag 12 at the time of a car emergency, and a lid 13 closing the opened part of the upper surface of the retainer 11.
The retainer 11 extends in the left-right direction and both ends thereof are connected to the left and right side frames 2 and 3 with fixtures 14 such as bolts and nuts. The bag 12 extends in the left-right direction inside of the retainer 11. Although not shown, the inflator is disposed within the bag 12 and fixed to the bottom of the retainer 11 via the lower part of the bag 12. When the bag 12 is inflated, the lid 13 is split when pushed by the bag 12. The inflated bag 12 bulges out upwards while pushing open the lid 13 so as to push up the section from below, extending from the seat pan 4 to the front ends of the springs 6.
Meanwhile, the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is shipped to a seat manufacturing facility in a previously unitized state in a passenger-protecting apparatus manufacturing facility. Then, in the seat manufacturing facility, the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is installed under the front part of the supporting member of the seat cushion (the seat pan 4 and the springs 6) from the side of the lower surface of the base frame 1 having the seat cushion already placed thereon.
Next, an operation of the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 will be described.
Upon detection of a frontal car collision, the inflator discharges gas, so that the gas from the inflator inflates the bag 12. As shown in
Meanwhile, in the present embodiment, when pressed by the inflated bag 12 from below, the seat pan 4 is subjected to a plastic deformation like forming an upward convex curve, thereby pressing upwards the seat cushion. In a seat including the passenger-protecting apparatus 10, since the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is disposed under the seat pan 4 and the springs 6 supporting the seat cushion, a seat-occupying person does not feel a foreign-body sensation and hence sits in the seat comfortably.
Also, on the occasion of, for example, fixing the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 to the seat or maintaining it, its work can be conducted from the lower surface of the base frame without removing the seat cushion from above of the seat pan 4 and the springs 6, thereby resulting in very satisfactory workability.
While the apparatus according to the present embodiment is constructed such that both the seat pan 4 and the springs 6 are pushed upwards by the inflated bag 12, the apparatus may be constructed as shown in
As the structure in which the front ends of the springs 6 are disengaged from the seat pan 4 when the springs 6 are pressed upwards, while a structure in which each spring 6 has a downward L-shaped hook provided at the front end thereof such that the hook is hooked from above with a corresponding hole perforated in the seat pan 4 is illustrated by way of example, the structure is not limited to this.
With the above-described structure shown in
In the present embodiment, a base frame 1A of the seat includes a seat pan 4A continuously extending in the front-back direction from both front ends to both rear ends of the left and right side frames 2 and 3. In other words, in the present embodiment, a seat cushion (not shown) is supported by a single sheet of the seat pan 4A from its front to rear ends. The seat pan 4A has the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 disposed under the front part thereof.
In the present embodiment, when the bag 12 is inflated, the front part of the seat pan 4A is pressed from below by the bag 12 and subjected to a plastic deformation like forming an upward convex curve as shown in
In the present embodiment too, a supporting member supporting a seat cushion (not shown) from its front to rear ends is formed from a single sheet of a seat pan 4B, which has the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 disposed under the front part thereof. As shown in
In the present embodiment, as shown in
In the present embodiment too, a supporting member supporting a seat cushion (not shown) from its front to rear ends is formed from a single sheet of a seat pan 4C, which has the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 disposed under the front part thereof. In the present embodiment, the seat pan 4C has an opening 4d arranged at the front part thereof, allowing the inflated bag 12 to pass therethrough towards the seat cushion. A plate 4e is arranged so as to cover the opening 4d.
The plate 4e is overlaid on the opening 4d from the side of the seat cushion, and its periphery is retained with or lightly connected to the periphery of the opening 4d. When the bag 12 is inflated, the plate 4e is detached from the seat pan 4C while being pushed by the bag 12 and moves upwards. As means for retaining or lightly connecting the plate 4e with or to the seat pan 4C, while a flat fastener such as a magic tape (registered trade mark), bonding with an adhesive or a double-side tape, riveting with a low strength, fitting with a low strength, spot-welding with a low strength, and the like are listed by way of example, the means is not limited to the above ones. While the plate 4e preferably covers the overall opening 4d, it may cover a part of the opening 4d. The overall or a part of the plate 4e may have a hole or a slit perforated therein.
In the present embodiment, when the bag 12 is inflated, the bag 12 passes through the opening 4d while pushing up the plate 4e and presses the seat cushion lying above the seat pan 4C. Hence, the front part of the seat cushion is quickly pushed up or made hard by the bag 12.
While the base frame 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 has the seat springs 6 stretched over in the front-rear direction of the seat, the seat springs 6 may be stretched over in the left-right direction of the seat.
The base frame ID has the same structure as that of the foregoing base frame 1 shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, except that the left and right side frames 2 and 3 have seat springs 6A stretched over therebetween, and the same reference characters in
With a positional relation of being located around between the rear end of the seat pan 4 and the spring 6A close to the seat pan 4, the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is disposed under the seat pan 4 and the spring 6A.
In the present embodiment too, when the inflator of the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 discharges gas, the bag 12 is inflated and pushes the seat pan 4 and the spring 6A close to the seat pan 4 upwards as shown in
Meanwhile, the springs 6A may be likewise formed such that the connection of both ends thereof to the side frames 2 and 3 is released when pushed upwards by the inflated bag 12. Also, the apparatus may be constructed such that the bag 12 inflates out towards the seat cushion while passing through between the rear end of the seat pan 4 and the spring 6A close to the seat pan 4 or between the mutually adjacent springs 6A.
With a base frame 1E according to the present embodiment, a supporting member supporting a seat cushion (not shown) from its front to rear ends is formed from a single sheet of the seat pan 4E, which has the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 disposed under the front part thereof. As shown in
As shown in
In the present embodiment, while being respectively disposed along the front and rear ends of the predetermined deformation area as shown in the figure, the pleat-shaped portions 20 may be disposed along the left and right side ends of the predetermined deformation area. Also, the pleat-shaped portion may be disposed all around or partially around the predetermined deformation area.
In the present embodiment, when the bag 12 is inflated and presses the predetermined deformation area of the seat pan 4E from below, as shown in FIGS. 16(a) and (b), the pleat-shaped portions 20 are deformed like extending upwards and accelerates the predetermined deformation area to bulge upwards. With this, the predetermined deformation area bulges upwards smoothly and quickly and early presses the seat cushion upwards.
Meanwhile, by selecting the shape, the size, the arrangement, and so forth of the pleat-shaped portion 20 where appropriate, for example, the bulging shape, the bulging direction, and the bulging height of the predetermined deformation area from the upper surface of the seat pan 4E can be controlled.
In the present embodiment too, the predetermined deformation area of the seat pan 4E has pleat-shaped portions 20F and 20R disposed along the front and rear ends thereof, respectively. As shown in
With a positional relation in which a middle position in the front-back direction, of the base end of the bag 12 substantially coincides with a middle position in the front-back direction, between base ends (folded back portions serving as boundaries between the pleat-shaped portions 20F and 20R and the corresponding circumferential portions) 21f and 21r of the pleat-shaped portions 20F and 20R, the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is disposed under the predetermined deformation area.
In the present embodiment, a distance dr from the middle position in the front-back direction, of the base end of the bag 12 (hereinafter, simply referred to as middle position) to the rear end of the rear pleat-shaped portion 20R is greater than a distance df from the middle position to the front end of the front pleat-shaped portion 20F. That is, a folded amount of the rear pleat-shaped portion 20R onto the upper surface of the seat pan 4E is greater than a folded amount of the front pleat-shaped portion 20F onto the seat pan 4E.
With the above-described structure, when the bag 12 is inflated and presses the predetermined deformation area from below, the rear pleat-shaped portion 20R extends out upwards on a larger scale than the front pleat-shaped portion 20F. As a result, as shown in
Meanwhile, the bulging shape and the others from the upper surface of the predetermined deformation area of the seat pan 4E can be likewise controlled by adjusting the stiffness of the pleat-shaped portions by providing openings such as slits or thin wall portions, or ribs or thick wall portions to the pleat-shaped portions.
In the present embodiment too, the predetermined deformation area of the seat pan 4E has a pleat-shaped portion 20F′ and the pleat-shaped portion 20R disposed along the front and rear ends thereof, respectively. In the present embodiment, the front pleat-shaped portion 20F′ has a plurality of small bore-shaped openings 22 bored therein. With this arrangement, the stiffness of the pleat-shaped portion 20F′ is smaller than that of the rear pleat-shaped portion 20R.
Accordingly, when the bag 12 is inflated and presses the predetermined deformation area from below, the pleat-shaped portion 20F′ extends more quickly and on a larger scale than the pleat-shaped portion 20R, so that the predetermined deformation area bulges out upwards while inclining rearwards so as to oppose to the forward movement of the sitting passenger.
Any of the foregoing embodiments is merely an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the embodiments shown in the figures. For example, while the retainer 11 of the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 is supported with the left and right side frames in each of the foregoing embodiments, the retainer 11 may be directly fixed to the lower surface of the supporting member including the seat pan. With this structure, the distance between the passenger-protecting apparatus 10 and the waist of a seat-occupying person is small, whereby the inflated bag quickly constrains the movement of the waist of the passenger.
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2005-021611 | Jan 2005 | JP | national |
2004-355581 | Dec 2004 | JP | national |