The present invention relates to a passenger restraining device that restrains a passenger sitting on a seat of a vehicle.
Airbag devices have generally become standard equipment in vehicles in recent years. An airbag device is a safety device which is operated in case of an emergency such as a vehicle collision and, for example, expands and deploys to protect the passenger. There are various types of airbag devices depending on the installation site and application. For example, a side airbag that expands and deploys to the immediate sides of a passenger on both sides of a seat is provided in a passenger restraining device in Patent Document 1.
In particular, in the passenger restraining device of Patent Document 1, a tensile cloth is provided that is tensioned during expansion and deployment of the airbag and extends between both sides of the airbag and the seat cushion. Thereby, an effect of suppressing movement of the airbag in the left-right direction by the tensile cloth can be increased. Therefore, passenger restraining performance by the airbag can be further increased.
[Patent Document 1] WO 2017-039160
According to the passenger restraining device of Patent Document 1, movement of the airbag in a direction away from the passenger can be suitably controlled by the tensile cloth, and passenger restraining performance by the airbag has increased dramatically. However, there is always a need to improve passenger restraining performance for passenger restraining devices.
In light of the problems described above, an object of the present invention is to provide a passenger restraining device that further improves passenger restraining performance.
In order to solve the problems as described above, a representative configuration of a passenger restraining device according to the present invention is a passenger restraining device that restrains a passenger seated in a seat of a vehicle, including a pair of airbags stowed in the inner portion on both the left and right sides of the seat that respectively expand and deploy to the left and right of the passenger, a left side tensile cloth and a right side tensile cloth that are stowed from within the seatback of the seat to within the seat cushion of the seat which deploys on exterior surfaces of each of the airbags during expansion and deployment of the pair of airbags, and a lower tensile cloth that extends in the left-right direction inside the seat cushion and connects the front ends of the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth, wherein the lower tensile cloth is disposed at least in the vicinity of the center in the left-right direction of the seat cushion, and further, disposed more to the front side of the center of the seat cushion in the front-rear direction, and where the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth are disposed extending in both the left and right directions rearwardly from both the left and right ends of the lower tensile cloth inside the seat cushion, such that when the airbag expands and deploys, the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth deploy on the side part of the seat and stretch between the seatback and the seat cushion.
According to the configuration described above, the left side tensile cloth, the right side tensile cloth, and the lower tensile cloth (collectively referred to as “tensile cloth” in the case where these are not particularly distinguished) are arranged in a trapezoidal shape with the lower side removed when the seat cushion is viewed from above. As a result, when the tensile cloth is disposed along the outer periphery of the seat cushion having a substantially square shape (when the tensile cloth is long), the length of the tensile cloth is shortened. Therefore, an effect of biasing the airbag toward the passenger by the tensile cloth can be enhanced. As a result, the passenger restraining performance of the passenger restraining device can be further improved.
The pair of airbags described above are preferably provided inside the left and right sides of the seatback of the seat. This configuration also enables obtaining the same effect as described above.
The locations where the surface skin of the seat cushion is cleaved by the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth is preferably disposed to the rear side of the center in the front and back direction of the seat cushion. With this type of configuration, the length of the tensile cloth can be adjusted shorter compared to a case where the point where the surface skin of the seat cushion is cleaved by the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth (hereinafter referred to as the cleavage point) is disposed to the front side of the center in the front-rear direction of the seat cushion. Therefore, the effects as described above can be enhanced.
The left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth described above preferably laterally pass the thigh of the passenger between the seatback and the seat cushion when deployed on the side part of the seat. As a result, the thigh of the passenger can be restrained by the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth deployed on the side part of the seat. Therefore, further improvement of passenger restraining performance is feasible.
The length of the lower tensile cloth described above in the left-right direction is preferably narrower than the width of the waist of the occupant when viewed from the front of the passenger while seated, when both left and right legs of the passenger are positioned at the center of the seat cushion in the left-right direction. As a result, the front ends of the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth connected to the lower tensile cloth are disposed in a position in the vicinity of the waist of the passenger. Therefore, the left side tensile cloth and the right side tensile cloth can more reliably and quickly restrain the waist of the passenger, and the effects as described can be enhanced.
According to the invention, a passenger restraining device can be provided in which passenger restraining performance is further improved.
Preferred embodiments according to the present invention will hereinafter be described in detail with reference to the appended drawings. The dimensions, materials, other specific numerical values, etc. indicated in such embodiments are mere exemplifications for ease of understanding of the invention and do not limit the present invention unless otherwise noted. Note that in the present specification and drawings, elements having substantially identical functions and configurations are labeled with identical symbols in order to omit redundant descriptions along with the illustration of elements not directly related to the present invention.
Note that regarding this embodiment, when a passenger is seated in a seat in a regular posture, the direction the passenger faces is referred to as the front, and the opposite direction is referred to as the rear. Moreover, when the passenger is seated in the seat in a regular posture, the right of the passenger is referred to as the right direction, and the left of the passenger is referred to as the left direction. Furthermore, when the passenger is seated in a regular posture, the direction towards the head of the passenger is referred to as up, and the direction towards the legs of the passenger is referred to as down. In addition, as needed, any diagrams used in descriptions below will indicate the front, rear, left, right, up, and down directions based on the passenger as described above as Fr, Rr, L, R, Up, and Down.
The passenger restraining device 100 of the present embodiment is a device for restraining a passenger that is seated in the seat 110. As illustrated in
The seat 110 includes a seatback 112 that supports the upper body of the passenger. A seat cushion 114 is provided below the seatback 112 on which the passenger sits. A headrest 116 is provided above the seatback that supports the head of the passenger. Note that the seat cushion 114 in the present embodiment includes a cushion portion at a lower portion of the seat surface and a seat pan disposed below the cushion portion.
As illustrated in
Note that while the present embodiment illustrates an example in which the airbags 120a and 120b are stowed in the seatback 112 of the seat 110, this is not a limitation. The present invention can be applied even when the airbags 120a and 120b are stowed in the seat cushion 114 of the seat 110.
The left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are respectively provided for the pair of airbags 120a and 120b. The left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are respectively stowed from the seatback 112 to the seat cushion 114 of the seat 110 on the side of the pair of stowed airbags 120a and 120b opposite the passenger.
As illustrated in
Note that
As illustrated in
Note that in the present embodiment, the configuration in which the lower tensile cloth 132 is secured to the seat cushion 114 throughout is illustrated, however, the present invention is not limited thereto. The connection point of the lower tensile cloth 132 with the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b should be secured to the seat cushion 114.
As illustrated in
Here, as illustrated by the double-dotted chain line in
In other words, when the conventional arrangement illustrated by the double-dotted chain line is employed in
In contrast, in the passenger restraining device 100 of the present embodiment, as illustrated with the solid line in
According to the configuration described above, the left side tensile cloth 130a, the right side tensile cloth 130b, and the lower tensile cloth 132 are disposed in a trapezoidal shape with the lower side removed when the seat cushion 114 is viewed from above. Therefore, with the arrangement of the present embodiment, the overall length of the tensile cloth 130a, the right side tensile cloth 130b, and the lower tensile cloth 132 is shorter than an arrangement in which the tensile cloth is disposed along the outer periphery of the substantially quadrangular seat cushion 114, or in other words a conventional arrangement. As a result, tension in the tensile cloth 130a, the right side tensile cloth 130b, and the lower tensile cloth 132 can be increased, and the force that biases the airbags 120a and 120b toward the passenger is increased. As a result, the passenger restraining performance of the passenger restraining device 100 can be further improved.
Note that in the present embodiment, the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are illustrated in a configuration extending in the left and right end directions rearwardly from both left and right ends of the lower tensile cloth 132 within the seat cushion 114, but are not limited thereto. For example, similar effects can be obtained even in a configuration in which the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are disposed so as to spread out from the center in the left and right direction in the seat cushion 114.
In the present embodiment, as illustrated in
Here, in
However, as is apparent from
Furthermore, in the present embodiment, as illustrated in
Even more preferably, the length L of the lower tensile cloth 132 in the left-right direction is narrower than the width of both left and right legs of the passenger P when both the left and right legs are positioned in the center W2C of the seat cushion 114 in the left-right direction. Specifically, as illustrated in
Alternatively, the length L of the lower tensile cloth 132 in the left-right direction is preferably narrower than the waist part of the passenger P when viewed from the front of the passenger P when seated (see
With the configuration described above, the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b connected to the lower tensile cloth 132 are disposed at positions in the vicinity of the left and right legs of the passenger P. Therefore, the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b can more reliably and quickly restrain the thigh T1 of the passenger P. This enables further improving the passenger restraining performance of the passenger restraining device 100.
Note that in the present embodiment, a configuration is illustrated where a tensile cloth is provided for each of the pair of airbags 120a and 120b on the left and right (the left side tensile cloth 130a and right side tensile cloth 130b), however, there is no limitation thereto. Therefore, the present invention can be applied to a configuration in which two or more tensile cloths are provided for one airbag.
In addition, in the present embodiment, a configuration is illustrated in which the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are respectively deployed on the side of the seat 110 by cleaving the surface skin of the seat 110 by expansion and deployment of the airbags 120a and 120b, however, there is no limitation thereto. For example, if the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b are stowed in a case and mounted to the seat, the seat cushion can be configured to be cleaved after the left side tensile cloth 130a and the right side tensile cloth 130b exit the case.
Preferred examples of the present invention were described above while referring to the accompanying drawings. However, the embodiments described above are preferred examples of the present invention, and other embodiments can be implemented or performed by various methods. In particular, unless described otherwise in the specification of the present application, the invention is not restricted to the shape, size, configurational disposition, and the like of parts illustrated in detail in the accompanying drawings. Furthermore, expressions and terms used in the specification of the present application are used for providing a description, and the invention is not limited thereto, unless specifically described otherwise.
Therefore, it is obvious that a person with ordinary skill in the art can conceive of various changed examples or modified examples within the scope described in the scope of the claims, which is understood to naturally belong to the technical scope of the present invention.
The present invention can be used in a passenger restraining device that restrains a passenger sitting on a seat of a vehicle.
P1: femur; 30a: left side tensile cloth; 30b: right side tensile cloth; 32: lower tensile cloth; 100: passenger restraining device; 110: seat; 112: seatback; 114: seat cushion; 114a: front edge; 114b: side edges; 116: headrest; 120a: airbag; 120b: airbag; 130a; left side tensile cloth; 130b: right side tensile cloth; 132: lower tensile cloth; P: passenger
Number | Date | Country | Kind |
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2018-135888 | Jul 2018 | JP | national |
Filing Document | Filing Date | Country | Kind |
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PCT/JP2019/025942 | 6/28/2019 | WO |
Publishing Document | Publishing Date | Country | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
WO2020/017281 | 1/23/2020 | WO | A |
Number | Name | Date | Kind |
---|---|---|---|
6029993 | Mueller | Feb 2000 | A |
8899619 | Fukawatase | Dec 2014 | B2 |
9193326 | Fukawatase | Nov 2015 | B2 |
9238425 | Fukawatase | Jan 2016 | B2 |
10189432 | Matsushita | Jan 2019 | B2 |
10864878 | Nagasawa | Dec 2020 | B2 |
11021129 | Saito | Jun 2021 | B2 |
20170259774 | Matsushita | Sep 2017 | A1 |
20200238944 | Huf | Jul 2020 | A1 |
20210370863 | Gwon | Dec 2021 | A1 |
Number | Date | Country |
---|---|---|
2013-220714 | Oct 2013 | JP |
2013220714 | Oct 2013 | JP |
2014-12475 | Jan 2014 | JP |
201412475 | Jan 2014 | JP |
10-2017-0036014 | Mar 2017 | KR |
2016039160 | Mar 2016 | WO |
WO2016039160 | Mar 2016 | WO |
Entry |
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Notification of Grounds for Rejection received in corresponding Korean application No. 10-2021-7002795, dated Oct. 7, 2022. |
Number | Date | Country | |
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20210316695 A1 | Oct 2021 | US |