阅读说明：本技术 安全气囊、安全气囊组件及用于安全气囊的折叠方法 (Airbag, airbag module and folding method for an airbag ) 是由 王双阳 王亮 张金 于 2018-07-24 设计创作，主要内容包括：本发明涉及安全气囊、安全气囊组件及用于安全气囊的折叠方法。安全气囊具有第一端部、第二端部和第三端部,其中,所述第三端部通过在所述第一端部和所述第二端部之间处折叠所述安全气囊而形成,所述第二端部和所述第三端部是所述安全气囊的自由端,所述第一端部用于固定至安装位置；所述安全气囊在处于收纳状态时具有第一卷绕部和第二卷绕部,所述第二端部位于所述第一卷绕部内,所述第三端部位于所述第二卷绕部内,并且,所述第二端部在所述第二卷绕部的外侧以及所述第三端部在所述第一卷绕部的外侧。本发明的安全气囊能够更高效地利用车辆内的安装空间。(The invention relates to an airbag, an airbag module and a folding method for an airbag. The airbag having a first end, a second end and a third end, wherein the third end is formed by folding the airbag between the first end and the second end, the second end and the third end being free ends of the airbag, the first end being for securing to a mounting location; the airbag has a first winding portion and a second winding portion when in a stored state, the second end portion is located inside the first winding portion, the third end portion is located inside the second winding portion, and the second end portion is outside the second winding portion and the third end portion is outside the first winding portion. The airbag of the invention can more efficiently utilize the installation space in the vehicle.)

1. An air bag, characterized in that,

the airbag having a first end, a second end and a third end, wherein the third end is formed by folding the airbag between the first end and the second end, the second end and the third end being free ends of the airbag, the first end being for securing to an installation location;

the airbag has a first winding portion and a second winding portion when in a stored state, the second end portion is located inside the first winding portion, the third end portion is located inside the second winding portion, and the second end portion is outside the second winding portion and the third end portion is outside the first winding portion.

2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the winding directions of the first and second wound portions are the same.

3. The airbag of claim 2 wherein the first coil has a cross-sectional dimension equal to a cross-sectional dimension of the second coil when the airbag is in a stowed condition.

4. The airbag of claim 3 wherein the first and second windings abut when the airbag is in a stowed condition.

5. An airbag assembly comprising:

a gas generator; and

the airbag according to any one of claims 1 to 4.

6. The airbag assembly of claim 5, further comprising:

a mounting device for securing the airbag to a respective mounting location, the mounting device being secured to the first end of the airbag.

7. The airbag assembly of claim 6, wherein the mounting device is configured as a loop around the airbag, a portion of the loop being secured to the first end of the airbag assembly.

8. A folding method for an airbag, the airbag comprising a first end portion for fixing to an installation location and a second end portion, the second end portion being a free end of the airbag, characterized in that the folding method comprises the steps of:

bringing the second end portion adjacent the first end portion to fold the airbag to form a third end portion of the airbag;

and winding a portion of the airbag with the second end portion and the third end portion as starting points, respectively, to form a first wound portion and a second wound portion, wherein the second end portion is outside the second wound portion and the third end portion is outside the first wound portion.

Technical Field

The present invention relates to automotive safety devices, and more particularly to airbags, airbag modules and folding methods for airbags.

Background

An airbag used in a vehicle is an important device frequently used in vehicles to protect an occupant in the vehicle from damage in an emergency. A curtain airbag, which is one of airbags, is generally mounted above a side door at an edge of a vehicle structure below an inner roof panel, and is inflated when the vehicle is impacted, so that it is expanded and deployed in an inflated state along a vehicle side structure in the vehicle such as a side window, and thereby prevents an occupant from suffering serious injury by directly striking an inner side structure of the vehicle or being thrown out of the window. Fig. 1 and 2 show examples of such curtain airbags. Specifically, fig. 1 shows a state in which curtain airbag 1 in a stored state is rolled up and stored in a space below vehicle side structure 3 (e.g., a side door) and roof inner panel 2, as viewed in the direction of the vehicle length (i.e., the left-right direction of fig. 1 is the direction of the vehicle width). Fig. 2 shows that curtain airbag 1 in an inflated, deployed state in the vehicle length direction (i.e., the left-right direction of fig. 2) is deployed downward along side structure 3 of the vehicle, thereby providing protection for an occupant in an occupant protection area.

Since the installation space of the airbag is very limited, the airbag is generally installed in a specific space of the vehicle in a state of being rolled up or folded and stored. FIGS. 3A-3B and 4 illustrate two airbag inflections commonly found in the prior art, respectively: a roll-fold configuration (as shown in fig. 3) and an N-fold configuration (as shown in fig. 4). Figure 3 shows a schematic side view of the airbag after being folded by a roll. Since the airbag module folded in this manner easily maintains the outer shape, it can maintain its shape without providing an additional package such as a wrapper when it is mounted to a vehicle. However, such airbag modules are relatively large in diameter and often cannot accommodate the limited installation space in a vehicle. Fig. 4 shows that the cross-section of the airbag after N-folding is relatively flat, taking up little space in the vehicle, but requires a cover 4 to maintain size. However, since the outer periphery of the airbag after N-folding is not flat, the envelope 4 generally needs to surround the airbag over substantially the entire extension length of the airbag to maintain the shape of the airbag, and therefore, the need for the envelope makes it difficult to reduce the cost.

Therefore, the airbag folded by adopting the folding mode of the existing airbag occupies a large space of a vehicle, and the cost for installation and fixation is high.

Disclosure of Invention

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides an airbag, wherein,

the airbag having a first end, a second end and a third end, wherein the third end is formed by folding the airbag between the first end and the second end, the second end and the third end being free ends of the airbag, the first end being for securing to an installation location;

the airbag has a first winding portion and a second winding portion when in a stored state, the second end portion is located inside the first winding portion, the third end portion is located inside the second winding portion, and the second end portion is outside the second winding portion and the third end portion is outside the first winding portion.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the winding direction of the first winding part and the second winding part is the same.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, when the airbag is in the stored state, the first wound portion has a cross-sectional size equal to that of the second wound portion.

According to one embodiment of the present invention, the first wound portion and the second wound portion are butted together when the airbag is in a stored state.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided an airbag module including:

a gas generator; and

the airbag is described above.

According to an embodiment of the invention, the airbag module further comprises:

a mounting device for securing the airbag to a respective mounting location, the mounting device being secured to the first end of the airbag.

According to one embodiment of the invention, the mounting means is configured as a loop around the airbag, a portion of the loop being secured to the first end of the airbag module.

According to another aspect of the present invention, there is also provided a folding method for an airbag, the airbag including a first end portion for fixing to a mounting position and a second end portion which is a free end of the airbag, characterized in that the folding method includes the steps of:

bringing the second end portion adjacent the first end portion to fold the airbag to form a third end portion of the airbag;

and winding a portion of the airbag with the second end portion and the third end portion as starting points, respectively, to form a first wound portion and a second wound portion, wherein the second end portion is outside the second wound portion and the third end portion is outside the first wound portion.

The airbag of the invention can more efficiently utilize the installation space in the vehicle.

Drawings

The invention is described in detail below with reference to the attached drawing figures:

fig. 1 is a schematic view showing a mounting position of a related art airbag 1 in a stored state in a vehicle as viewed from a vehicle length direction;

fig. 2 is a schematic view showing the position of a related art airbag 1 in a deployed state in a vehicle as viewed from the vehicle width direction;

fig. 3A and 3B show schematic side sectional views of a roll-folding manner of the airbag 1 of the related art;

fig. 4 shows a schematic side sectional view of the N-fold pattern of the airbag 1 of the prior art;

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of an airbag according to an embodiment of the invention;

fig. 6A-6D illustrate a method of folding an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention.

Fig. 7A-7D show schematic views of airbags according to other embodiments of the present invention.

Figure 8 shows a schematic view of a buckle for securing an airbag in an installed position according to the present invention.

Detailed Description

Embodiments of an airbag, an airbag module, and a folding method for an airbag according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The following detailed description and drawings are included to illustrate the principles of the invention, which is not to be limited to the preferred embodiments described, but is to be defined by the appended claims.

FIG. 5 shows a schematic view of an airbag according to an embodiment of the invention. Hereinafter, an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to fig. 5.

As shown in fig. 5, the airbag 10 is in a stored state. The airbag 10 in the stored state has a first end 111, a second end 112 and a third end 113, wherein the third end 113 is formed by folding the airbag 10 between the first end 111 and the second end 112, and the second end 112 and the third end 113 are free ends of the airbag 10, the first end 111 being intended to be fixed to a mounting position. The mounting position of airbag 10 in the vehicle shown in fig. 5 can be referred to the mounting position of curtain airbag 1 shown in fig. 1 and 2, i.e., airbag 10 is located in a space under a side structure (e.g., side door) and a roof inner panel of the vehicle.

Further, the airbag 10 in the stored state has the first winding portion 10A and the second winding portion 10B arranged up and down, the second end portion 112 is located in the first winding portion 10A, the third end portion 113 is located in the second winding portion 10B, and the second end portion 112 is outside the second winding portion 10B and the third end portion 113 is outside the first winding portion 10A. According to the embodiment shown in fig. 5, the winding direction of the first winding 10A and the second winding 10B is the same, i.e. both winding directions are counterclockwise, and the cross-sectional size of the first winding 10A is equal to the cross-sectional size of the second winding 10B, the first winding 10A and the second winding 10B being butted together.

Those skilled in the art will appreciate that the above described embodiments are merely examples, for example, first end 111 may be a free end and second end 112 may be used to secure to a mounting location. In this case, the first end 111 is located in the first wound portion 10A, the third end 113 is located in the second wound portion 10B, and the first end 111 is outside the second wound portion 10B and the third end 113 is outside the first wound portion 10A.

Since the airbag 10 according to this embodiment of the invention has two windings of the first winding portion 10A and the second winding portion 10B arranged one above the other, the airbag 10 according to the invention has an elongated structure as shown in fig. 5, compared to the airbag 1 in fig. 3A, i.e., the airbag 10 according to the invention is smaller in size than the airbag 1 of the related art in the lateral direction shown in fig. 5 and 3, and the airbag 10 according to the invention is larger in size than the airbag 1 of the related art in the longitudinal direction shown in fig. 5 and 3. Meanwhile, in conjunction with the installation space of curtain airbag 1 in a vehicle shown in fig. 1 and 2, it is easily seen that airbag 10 having an elongated structure according to the present invention can utilize the installation space more efficiently.

When the airbag 10 needs to be inflated and deployed, for example, when a vehicle accident occurs, the airbag 10 is inflated so as to be inflated and deployed downward along the vehicle side structure 3, and the second end portion 112 and the third end portion 113 are deployed one after another as free ends, thereby providing protection to the occupant in the occupant protection area.

Further, fig. 6A to 6D show, as an example, a folding method of an airbag according to an embodiment of the present invention. In manufacturing the airbag 10 shown in the embodiment in fig. 5, as shown in fig. 6A and 6B, the second end portion 112 may be brought close to the first end portion 111 to fold the airbag 10 to form the third end portion 113 of the airbag 10, and then, as shown in fig. 6C and 6D, a portion of the airbag 10 may be wound in a counterclockwise winding direction as viewed in a right side view of fig. 6 with the second end portion 112 outside the second wound portion 10B and the third end portion 113 outside the first wound portion 10A to form the first wound portion 10A and the second wound portion 10B, respectively, starting from the second end portion 112 and the third end portion 113. Further, as shown in fig. 5, the first wound portion 10A and the second wound portion 10B are wound so that the cross sections thereof are as large, and the first wound portion 10A and the second wound portion 10B are wound so as to abut against each other. However, it can be understood by those skilled in the art that the airbag of the present invention is not limited thereto, and for example, both the first and second wound portions may not have the same large cross-section and the first and second wound portions may be separated by a distance according to actual circumstances.

It will be understood by those skilled in the art that the first and second winding portions of the airbag according to the present invention are not limited to being wound in the same direction, but may be wound in opposite directions. For example, in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, a portion of the airbag 20 is wound in a counterclockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the third end portion 113 as a starting point to form the second wound portion 20B, and a portion of the airbag 20 is wound in a clockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the second end portion 112 as a starting point to form the first wound portion 20A, as shown in fig. 7A. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, a portion of the airbag 30 is wound in a clockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the third end portion 113 as a starting point to form the second wound portion 30B, and a portion of the airbag 30 is wound in a clockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the second end portion 112 as a starting point to form the first wound portion 30A, as shown in fig. 7B. Alternatively, in the embodiment shown in fig. 6, a portion of the airbag 10 is wound in a clockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the third end portion 113 as a starting point to form the second wound portion 40B, and a portion of the airbag 10 is wound in a counterclockwise winding direction as viewed in the right side view of fig. 6 with the second end portion 112 as a starting point to form the first wound portion 40A, as shown in fig. 7C. Further, the airbag according to the present invention may include, in addition to the first winding portion and the second winding portion, a folded portion 50C having both ends connected to the first winding portion 50A and the second winding portion 50B, respectively, the folded portion 50C being folded in an N-fold manner, as shown in fig. 7D.

In addition to the airbag described hereinbefore, the invention also provides an airbag module. The airbag module comprises a gas generator and an airbag according to the preceding embodiments. The gas generator is used for inflating the safety airbag when being detonated so as to inflate and expand the safety airbag.

More specifically, the airbag module may further include a buckle 300 for fixing the airbag to a corresponding mounting position. As shown in fig. 8, a schematic view of the vicinity of the buckle 300 is shown. In fig. 8, the airbag 10 is not shown in its entirety, but only a section thereof near the buckle 300 is shown. A portion of the buckle 300 is fixed to a first end of the airbag (not shown) and surrounds the airbag 10, and another portion of the buckle 300 protrudes through an opening of the buckle end so as to surround the outer circumference of the airbag, and the protruding portions may be used to be fixed to respective mounting positions. Thus, the buckle 300 can maintain the shape of the airbag 10 and can conveniently install the airbag module.

It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that the mounting arrangement for the airbag module is not limited to the above-described buckles. Any mounting means that can secure the airbag to a predetermined mounting location of the vehicle may be used by those skilled in the art, as the case may be. For example, by means of a female, hook-like member, etc., and/or by riveting, gluing, snapping, etc., depending on the specific application.

As described above, although the exemplary embodiments of the present invention have been described in the description with reference to the drawings, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the scope of the present invention should be defined by the claims and their equivalents.