Airbag, airbag module, vehicle as well as method of manufacturing an airbag

Abstract

An airbag comprises a front panel (22), a rear panel (24) and an additional panel (26), the front panel (22) and the rear panel (24) being directly connected to each other in a first circumferential portion (28) and the front panel (22) being connected to the additional panel (26) and the additional panel (26) being connected to the rear panel (24) in a second circumferential portion (30). Further, an airbag module (16), a vehicle (10) and a method of manufacturing the airbag (18) are shown.

Claims

1. An airbag for a vehicle occupant restraint system comprising a front panel (22), a rear panel (24) and an additional panel (26), wherein the front panel (22) and the rear panel (24) are interconnected at their circumference, wherein, in a first circumferential portion (28) of the front panel (22) and in a first circumferential portion (28) of the rear panel (24), the front panel (22) and the rear panel (24) are directly connected to each other, and wherein, in a second circumferential portion (30) of the front panel (22), the front panel (22) is connected to the additional panel (26) and, in a second circumferential portion (30) of the rear panel (24), the additional panel (26) is connected to the rear panel (24).

2. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag (18) has an outer shell which includes the front panel (22), the rear panel (24) and the additional panel (26).

3. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein the additional panel (26) includes a leading edge (34) and a trailing edge (36), the leading edge (34) being connected to the front panel (22) and the trailing edge (36) being connected to the rear panel (24).

4. The airbag according to claim 3, wherein leading edge (34) and the trailing edge (36) enclose an acute angle (α) in the unfastened spread state of the additional panel (26).

5. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the unfastened spread state, the circumference of the front panel (22) and the circumference of the rear panel (24) have a substantially identical contour.

6. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag has a longitudinal direction (L) and a vertical direction (H), the second circumferential portion (30) being provided at a vertical-side end of the airbag (18).

7. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the airbag (18) is larger in the longitudinal direction (L) than in the vertical direction (H).

8. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the additional panel (26) is formed integrally with the front panel (22) or the rear panel (24).

9. An airbag module for a vehicle occupant restraint system, comprising an inflator (20) and the airbag (18) according to claim 1.

10. A vehicle comprising at least one back seat (14) and the airbag (18) according to claim 1, wherein, in the inflated state, the additional panel (26) is disposed in the area of the back seat (14).

11. A method of manufacturing an airbag (18) according to claim 1, comprising the following steps of: providing a first panel (38) for the airbag (18) and an additional panel (26) for the airbag (18), connecting the additional panel (26) to the first panel (28) in a second circumferential portion (30) of the first panel (38), providing a second panel (40) for the airbag (18), connecting the second panel (40) directly to the first panel (38) in a first circumferential portion (28) of the first panel (38) and a first circumferential portion (28) of the second panel (40), and connecting the second panel (40) to the additional panel (26) at a second circumferential portion (30) of the second panel (40).

12. The method according to claim 11, wherein the first panel (38) is a rear panel (24) of the airbag (18) and the second panel (40) is a front panel (22) of the airbag (18), or vice versa.

13. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the airbag is a side airbag.

14. The airbag according to claim 4, wherein leading edge (34) and the trailing edge (36) enclose the acute angle (α) at both ends of the leading edge (34) and of the trailing edge (36).

15. The airbag according to claim 1, wherein the unfastened spread state, the circumference of the front panel (22) and the circumference of the rear panel (24) have a completely identical contour.

16. The airbag according to claim 6, wherein the vertical-side end is completely provided in the second circumferential portion (30).

17. The vehicle of claim 10, wherein, in the inflated state, the additional panel (26) is disposed in a shoulder area of the back seat (14).

18. A vehicle comprising at least one back seat (14) and an airbag (18) according to claim 1, wherein, in the inflated state, the additional panel (26) is provided at an end of the airbag (18) facing the tail of a vehicle (10).

19. The method of claim 11, wherein the step of connecting comprises sewing the additional panel (26) to the first panel (28) in a second circumferential portion (30) of the first panel (38).

Description

(1) Further features and advantages of the invention will be resulting from the following description and from the attached drawings which are referred to, wherein:

(2) FIG. 1 schematically shows a vehicle according to the invention comprising an airbag module according to the invention including an airbag according to the invention,

(3) FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the airbag according to FIG. 1 in the inflated state,

(4) FIG. 3A shows a front panel of the airbag according to FIG. 2 in the unfastened spread state,

(5) FIG. 3B shows a rear panel of the airbag according to FIG. 2 in the unfastened spread state,

(6) FIG. 3C shows an additional panel of the airbag according to FIG. 2 in the unfastened spread state,

(7) FIG. 4 shows a schematic representation of the manufacture of the airbag according to FIG. 2,

(8) FIG. 5 shows a view of a vehicle occupant sitting on a back seat of the vehicle according to FIG. 1 with an inflated airbag, and

(9) FIG. 6 shows a sectional view along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

DESCRIPTION

(10) In FIG. 1, an interior of a vehicle 10 is extremely schematically shown. The vehicle 10 is a passenger car or a truck, for example.

(11) The vehicle 10 has two front seats 12, plural back seats 14 as well as an airbag module 16 as part of a vehicle occupant restraint system.

(12) In FIG. 1, merely a front seat 12 and a back seat 14 as well as the airbag module 16 which is fastened to a roof pillar 17 of the vehicle 10 are shown. The airbag module 16 thus is a curtain airbag module, more exactly speaking a curtain-Thorax airbag (CTAB) module.

(13) The airbag module 16 has an airbag 18 and an inflator 20 which is arranged for inflating the airbag 18 in the case of release. In the shown example configuration, the inflator 20 is disposed inside the airbag 18. However, it is also imaginable that the inflator is disposed outside the airbag 18 and may inflate the airbag 18 by means of an inflation mouth of the airbag 18.

(14) In FIG. 2, the airbag 18 is separately shown in a perspective in the inflated state and the single parts of the airbag 18 are shown in the unfastened spread state in FIGS. 3a, 3b and, resp., 3c.

(15) The airbag 18 has a front panel 22 (FIG. 3a), a rear panel 24 (FIG. 3b) as well as an additional panel 26 (FIG. 3c) which are interconnected and form the outer shell of the airbag 18.

(16) The front panel 22, the rear panel 24 and the additional panel 26 are connected, for example, by a seam. The connection or, resp., the seam is shown in a dot and dash line in FIG. 2.

(17) However, also other connecting options are imaginable, such as adhesive bonding or weaving.

(18) The airbag 18 has a longitudinal direction L, a vertical direction H and a transverse direction Q which are in conformity with the longitudinal vehicle direction, the vertical vehicle direction and, resp., the transverse vehicle direction especially in the inflated state.

(19) In the shown example configuration, the airbag 18, especially in the inflated state, is larger in the longitudinal direction L than in the vertical direction H. The expansion in the transverse direction Q is smaller than the expansion in the longitudinal direction L and is also smaller than the expansion in the vertical direction H.

(20) The front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 delimit the airbag 18 in the transverse direction Q and are interconnected at their entire circumference.

(21) As is clearly visible from FIGS. 3a and 3b, the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 are identical so that also their circumferences have completely identical contours.

(22) The front panel 22, the rear panel 24 and/or the additional panel 26 are e.g. single planar fabric layers having a circumference of a predetermined contour.

(23) Each of the circumferences of the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 has a first circumferential portion 28 and a second circumferential portion 30. The first circumferential portion 28 and the second circumferential portion 30 together make up for e.g. the entire circumference of the front panel 22 and, resp., of the rear panel 24.

(24) Just as the contour of the circumferences, also the layers of the first circumferential portion 28 and of the second circumferential portion 30 may be identical at the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24.

(25) In the shown example configuration, the second circumferential portion 30 is provided at a vertical-side end, i.e. at an end at which the circumference extends in the vertical direction H.

(26) For example, the entire vertical-side end 32 is part of the second circumferential portion 30.

(27) The additional panel 26 shown in FIG. 3c has a contour different from that of the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24.

(28) In the shown example configuration, the additional panel 26 includes merely two edges, viz. a leading edge 34 and a trailing edge 36.

(29) The leading edge 34 and the trailing edge 36 are largely opposed to each other and delimit the additional panel 26.

(30) The leading edge 34 and the trailing edge 36 merge into each other at two points, especially at the two ends of the leading edge 34 and the trailing edge 36.

(31) At said transitions, the leading edge 34 and the trailing edge 36 enclose an acute angle α.

(32) The leading edge 34 and the trailing edge 36 correspond to the second circumferential portion 30 of the front panel 22 and, resp., of the rear panel 24 in terms of geometry and length, for example.

(33) As is evident from FIG. 2, the front panel 22 is connected in its second circumferential portion 30 to the leading edge 34 of the additional panel and the rear panel 24 is connected in its second circumferential portion 30 to the trailing edge 36 of the additional panel 26.

(34) Thus, in the second circumferential portion 30 of the front panel 22 and, resp., of the rear panel 24 the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 are interconnected by means of the additional panel 26.

(35) In the first circumferential portions 28 of the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24, the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 are directly connected to each other.

(36) In this way, the airbag 18 is significantly thicker in the area of the second circumferential portion, i.e. has a larger expansion in the transverse direction Q than in the area of the first circumferential portion 28 in which the front panel 22 and the rear panel 24 are directly fastened to each other.

(37) The additional panel 26 itself extends substantially in the vertical direction H.

(38) Said area of the airbag 18 having a larger thickness is provided in a shoulder area of the back seat 14 in the inflated state, with the additional panel 26 being directed toward the tail of the vehicle 10. The additional panel 26 thus is disposed at an end of the airbag 18 facing the tail of the vehicle 10.

(39) The manufacture of the airbag 18 is partly illustrated in FIG. 4. To start with, a first panel 38, such as the front panel 22, as well as the additional panel 26 are provided.

(40) The second circumferential portion 30 of the first panel 38 is connected, for example sewn, to the leading edge 34 and, resp., the trailing edge 36 of the additional panel 26. The intermediate product obtained in this way is shown at the top of FIG. 4.

(41) As a matter of course, it is also imaginable that said intermediate product is formed in one piece, i.e. that the additional panel 26 is formed integrally with the front panel 22 and, resp., with the rear panel 24, for example as one single fabric layer. In order to indicate the possible one-piece design, in FIG. 4 the separating line between the first panel 38 and the additional panel 26 is shown by a broken line.

(42) In the next step, a second panel 40 is provided which is the rear panel 24, for example.

(43) The second panel 40 then is connected to the intermediate product from the first panel 38 and the additional panel 26. More exactly speaking, in the first circumferential portion 28 of the first and second panels 38, 40 the first panel 38 is directly connected, for example sewn, to the second panel 40, and the second circumferential portion 30 of the second panel 40 is connected, for example sewn, to the trailing edge 36 and, resp., to the leading edge 34 of the additional panel 26.

(44) In this way, the airbag 18 shown in FIG. 2 is obtained.

(45) In FIGS. 5 and 6, a cutout of the vehicle 10 is illustrated with the airbag module 16 being released, i.e. the airbag 18 being inflated.

(46) FIG. 5 illustrates a view from the front of a vehicle occupant sitting on a back seat 14, and FIG. 6 illustrates a section along the line VI-VI of FIG. 5.

(47) It is clearly evident that the airbag 18 has a large thickness in the shoulder area of the back seat 14 to stabilize the vehicle occupant without having a further downward expansion, however.

(48) As is evident from FIG. 6, the increased thickness is facilitated by the additional panel 26 which is provided between the shoulder 42 of the vehicle occupant and the door lining 44.

(49) In this way, an airbag 18 of increased thickness in the shoulder area can be provided without the airbag 18 having a particularly large volume or a large expansion in the vertical vehicle direction.