VEHICULAR AIRBAG DEVICE

Abstract

The present disclosure relates to an airbag apparatus for a vehicle, which includes: an airbag cushion which is inflated and deployed in a forward direction from both sides of a passenger upon vehicle collision to protect both sides of the passenger; and an inflater configured to generate gas by an impact detection signal and to supply the gas to the airbag cushion, wherein the airbag cushion includes a first airbag configured to protect both sides or one side from passenger's shoulder to passenger's lower body part; and a second airbag configured to protect passenger's head and both sides of passenger's shoulder, and can restrict and protect passenger's upper body and lower body by inflating and deploying the first and second airbags toward both sides of the passenger upon vehicle collision.

Claims

1. An airbag apparatus for a vehicle, the airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag cushion which is inflated and deployed in a forward direction from both sides of a passenger upon vehicle collision to protect both sides of the passenger; and an inflater configured to generate gas by an impact detection signal and to supply the gas to the airbag cushion, wherein the airbag cushion comprises a first airbag configured to protect both sides or one side from passenger's shoulder to passenger's lower body part; and a second airbag configured to protect passenger's head and both sides of passenger's shoulder.

2. The airbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein the second airbag is received in a headrest in a folded state, and wherein the second airbag is supplied with gas upon vehicle collision and is inflated and deployed to the outside through a cutting line formed on the headrest.

3. The airbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein when the second airbag is deployed, a center of the second airbag is disposed on a rear side of the headrest, both ends of the second airbag are inflated and deployed in a forward direction and in upward and downward directions from both sides of the passenger's head, wherein the both ends of the deployed second airbag overlap an upper end of the first airbag.

4. The airbag apparatus of claim 3, wherein the both ends of the second airbag are disposed further inside than the upper end of the first airbag and are supported by the first airbag to prevent or restrain lateral movement of the passenger's head upon lateral collision of the vehicle.

5. The airbag apparatus of claim 3, wherein the both ends of the second airbag are disposed further outside than the upper end of the first airbag and support the first airbag to prevent or restrain lateral movement of passenger's body upon lateral collision of the vehicle.

6. The airbag apparatus of claim 3, wherein a tether is installed on the second airbag to limit an inflation deployment shape of the second airbag.

7. The airbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein one pair of first airbags are provided and are installed both sides of a backrest of a seat.

8. The airbag apparatus of claim 1, wherein only one first airbag is installed on one side of a backrest of a seat, and a support structure is installed on the other side of the backrest to prevent lateral movement of the passenger.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0026] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0027] FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a plane view of the airbag apparatus for the vehicle shown in FIG. 1, respectively;

[0028] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present disclosure;

[0029] FIG. 5 is a front view of the airbag apparatus for the vehicle shown in FIGS. 4; and

[0030] FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0031] Hereinafter, an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0032]

[0033] The present disclosure safely protects a passenger by restricting the whole of passenger's upper body and lower body by inflating and deploying airbag cushions toward both sides of the upper body including passenger's head and chest with reference to passenger's both shoulders, and both sides of the lower body including passenger's pelvis and hip.

[0034] In particular, the present disclosure can protect passenger's front by inflating and deploying airbag cushions to enclose the front along with both sides of the passenger upon vehicle collision, and can prevent an injury from occurring by a flying object or a broken part in the vehicle.

[0035] In addition, the present disclosure can prevent a submarine phenomenon that a passenger moves forward upon a frontal crash of a vehicle by inflating and deploying an airbag cushion upward from a front lower portion of passenger's pelvis and hip.

[0036] In addition, the present disclosure can safely protect a passenger on a back seat by buffering when the passenger on the back seat collides with a backrest, by inflating and deploying an airbag cushion from a rear surface of the back rest of the seat.

[0037] In the present embodiment, a configuration of an airbag apparatus installed in a driver seat of a normal vehicle will be described, and a direction of facing a front surface of the vehicle with reference to a driver seat will be referred to as a ‘forward direction (F),’ and a direction of facing a rear surface of the vehicle will be referred to as a ‘backward direction (B)’. Along with these terms, terms indicating directions such as ‘left side (L),“right side (R),”upward direction (U),’ and ‘downward direction (D)’ are defined to indicate respective directions with reference to the forward direction and the backward direction described above. In addition, reference sign I shown in the drawings indicates an inward direction of the vehicle in a width direction of the vehicle, and reference sign O indicates an outward direction of the vehicle in the width direction of the vehicle.

[0038] Accordingly, the forward, backward (F, B) directions of the vehicle may be expressed as a horizontal direction, and the upward, downward (U, D) directions of the vehicle may be expressed as a vertical direction.

[0039]

[0040] FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIGS. 2 and 3 are a front view and a plane view of the airbag apparatus for the vehicle shown in FIG. 1, respectively.

[0041] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the airbag apparatus 10 for the vehicle according to a preferred embodiment of the present disclosure includes an airbag cushion 20 which is inflated and deployed in the forward direction from both sides of a passenger upon vehicle collision to protect both sides of the passenger, and an inflater 21 which generates gas by an impact detection signal and supplies the gas to the airbag cushion 20.

[0042] The airbag cushion 20 may be inflated and deployed in the forward direction from both sides of the passenger to correspond to an upper body part including passenger's head and chest, abdomen with reference to passenger's shoulder, and a lower body part including passenger's pelvis and hip.

[0043] To achieve this, the airbag cushion 20 may include one pair of first airbags 30 to protect both sides of the lower body part from the passenger's shoulder, and a second airbag 40 to protect passenger's head and both sides of the upper end of passenger's shoulder.

[0044] Specifically, the one pair of first airbags 30 are installed in a backrest 12 of a seat 11 on which the passenger sits, respectively, and are inflated and deployed in the forward direction and in the upward and downward directions from both sides of the backrest 12 to restrict both sides of the lower body part from the passenger's shoulder.

[0045] The first airbags 30 may be received in the backrest 12 of the vehicle in a folded state, and may be provided as side airbags to restrict and protect both sides of the passenger's upper body part and lower body part.

[0046] The second airbag 40 is installed in a headrest 13 installed on an upper end of the backrest 12, and is inflated in the forward direction and in the upward and downward directions from both sides of the passenger's head to restrict the passenger's head and both sides of the upper end of the passenger's shoulder.

[0047] The second airbag 40 may be received in the headrest 13 in a folded state, and may be supplied with gas from the inflater upon vehicle collision and may be inflated and deployed to the outside of the headrest 13 through a cutting line formed on a rear surface of the headrest 13.

[0048] The second airbag 40 may be inflated and deployed substantially in an inverted U shape (∩) when viewed above.

[0049] That is, when the second airbag 40 is deployed, the second airbag 40 may be inflated and deployed, such that a center 41 of the second airbag 40 is disposed on a rear side of the head rest 13, and both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 are disposed on both sides of the passenger's head, respectively.

[0050] Herein, the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 may be disposed further inside than upper ends of the one pair of first airbags 30 to overlap the upper ends of the one pair of first airbags 30, respectively.

[0051] Accordingly, the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 may be caught and supported by the upper ends of the one pair of first airbags, respectively, when they move toward one side.

[0052] That is, when the passenger's head moves toward one side and the second airbag is pushed out due to lateral collision of the vehicle, an end of the second airbag is supported on the upper end of the first airbag to effectively prevent or restrain movement of the passenger's head.

[0053]

[0054] Although it is illustrated in the present embodiment that the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 are disposed further inside than the upper ends of the one pair of first airbags 30, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0055] FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to another embodiment of the present disclosure, and FIG. 5 is a front view of the airbag apparatus for the vehicle shown in FIG. 4.

[0056] As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the airbag apparatus 10 for the vehicle according to another embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as the configuration of the airbag apparatus 10 described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, and is different therefrom in that the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 are disposed further outside than the upper ends of the one pair of first airbags 30.

[0057] That is, the second airbag 40 may be inflated and deployed substantially in an inverted, squared U shape (‘’) when viewed above.

[0058] Accordingly, when the passenger's upper body or lower body moves toward one side, for example, to the left side, due to lateral collision of the vehicle, and the first airbag 30 on the left is pushed out, the corresponding first airbag 30 may be supported on the left end 42 of the second airbag 40 to effectively prevent or restrain movement of the passenger.

[0059] Herein, one pair of tethers 43 may be installed on the second airbag 40 to limit an inflation deployment shape.

[0060] One end of each tether 43 may be connected to a center of a front surface of the second airbag 40, and the other end of each tether 43 may be connected to the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40.

[0061] Of course, the present disclosure is not necessarily limited thereto, and the number of tethers, connection positions, length, etc. may be variously changed according to the size, deployment shape of the second airbag.

[0062] For example, a plurality of pairs of tethers 43 may be provided or both ends of one tether 43 may be connected to the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40, respectively.

[0063] In addition, both ends of the tether 43 may be connected to the headrest 13 and the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40, respectively.

[0064] In addition, the present disclosure may be changed to apply a tether to the first airbag to limit a deployment shape.

[0065]

[0066] Although it is illustrated in the above-described embodiments that the first airbags are disposed on both sides of the backrest, the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

[0067] For example, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure.

[0068] As shown in FIG. 6, the airbag apparatus 10 for the vehicle according to still another embodiment of the present disclosure is the same as the configuration of the airbag apparatus 10 for the vehicle described above with reference to FIGS. 1 to 5, and is different therefrom in that an armrest 14 is installed on one side of the backrest 12.

[0069] Herein, the armrest 14 may perform a function of comfortably supporting passenger's arm when the passenger places his/her arm thereon, and may also perform a function of preventing or restraining the passenger from moving toward the opposite side of collision upon lateral collision of the vehicle.

[0070] When the armrest 14 is installed on one side of the seat 11, for example, on the right side, as described above, the first airbag 30 installed on the right side of the backrest 12 may be removed, and one first airbag 30 may be installed on the left side of the backrest 120.

[0071] Of course, the present disclosure is not limited thereto, and may be changed to have the first airbag 30 installed only on one side of the backrest 12 when a support structure to prevent lateral movement of the passenger, like the armrest 14 or a console box, is provided on one side of the seat 11.

[0072] Accordingly, only one of the both ends 42 of the second airbag 40 may be installed in contact with the upper end of the first airbag 30.

[0073]

[0074] Through the above-described process, the present disclosure can restrict and protect the passenger's upper body and lower body by inflating and deploying the first and second airbags on both sides of the passenger upon vehicle collision.

[0075] That is, the present disclosure has the first airbag installed in the backrest of the seat of the vehicle, and the second airbag installed in the headrest, thereby restrict passenger's body and head upon vehicle collision.

[0076] In particular, the present disclosure has the second airbag disposed to overlap the upper end of the first airbag, thereby effectively preventing or restraining movement of the passenger caused by lateral collision of the vehicle.

[0077] Accordingly, the present disclosure can safely protect a passenger by effectively restricting the passenger in a state where a seat and a backrest are rotated in various directions and angles in an autonomous vehicle.

[0078] Although the invention made by the inventors of the present application has been specifically described according to the above embodiments, the present disclosure is not limited to the above embodiments, and may be modified variously within a scope of the technical essence of the present disclosure.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

[0079] The present disclosure is applied to technology of an airbag apparatus for a vehicle which safely protects a passenger by restricting the passenger by inflating and deploying airbag cushions from both sides of the passenger upon vehicle collision.