Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-09-19
2001-10-02
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728300
Reexamination Certificate
active
06296270
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION AND RELATED ART STATEMENT
The present invention relates to an airbag device which is suitable for a passenger seat of an automobile, and especially, the present invention relates to an airbag device in which a connection structure between a lid and a case is improved.
In a passenger's seat airbag device, a folded airbag is accommodated in a case, that is also called as a container or retainer, and a rim portion of a gas receiving hole of the airbag is attached to the case.
A front surface of the case is opened, and this opening is covered by a lid. The lid is disposed on a substantially same plane as an instrument panel. When an inflator disposed in the case is actuated to generate a gas, the airbag presses a reverse side of the lid to open the lid, and the airbag is deployed in an interior of the vehicle.
Incidentally, leg portions project downwardly from the reverse surface of the lid, and the leg portions are attached to the case by rivets or bolts in most cases. A tear line may be provided in the lid in order to open the lid in case of deploying the airbag, so that the lid is torn to open along the tear line. Also, the lid may be opened by separating the leg portions from the case. The lid may be opened by tearing the leg portions.
Further, in many cases, hook fittings are welded to the case, and hook portions of the hook fittings are inserted into openings in the leg portions.
FIG. 3
shows a sectional view showing a conventional airbag device in which the hook fittings are applied. An airbag device
1
is formed of an inflator
2
for generating a gas in the event of a vehicle collision; a case
3
for accommodating the inflator; an airbag
5
accommodated inside the case
3
in a folded condition; and a lid
6
for closing an opening at an upper portion of the case
3
. Reference numeral
9
designates an instrument panel.
On an outer surface of the upper portion of the case
3
, hook fittings
10
and
11
are fixed by spot welding. The hook fittings
10
and
11
extend along an upper rim of the case
3
, and a plurality of hook portions
12
in a claw shape is integrally formed with an adequate interval therebetween in a direction of extending the hook fittings
10
and
11
. In leg portions
7
of the lid
6
, there are formed openings
13
which correspond to the hook portions
12
and engage the hook portions
12
. On an inner surface of the lid
6
, a thin-walled portion
8
is formed.
In order to attach the lid
6
to the case
3
for assembling the airbag device
1
, the lid
6
is pushed inwardly to cover the opening at the upper surface of the case
3
. As a result, the leg portions
7
of the lid
6
are deformed elastically outwardly and passes over the hook portions
12
, and when the hook portions
12
and the openings
13
are aligned, the leg portions
7
are returned to the original shapes, so that the hook portions
12
are inserted into the openings
13
.
In the airbag device structured as described above, when the inflator
2
is actuated, the airbag
5
is inflated, and the lid
6
is torn to open along the thin-walled portion
8
, so that the airbag
5
is deployed in the interior of the vehicle.
As a conventional structure of attaching the leg portions of the lid to the case, Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. H9-277897 discloses a structure in which projections are provided on an inner surface of a rim of the case in order to engage the openings in the leg portions with the projections, and the leg portions are pressed against the inner surface of the case by end portions of fittings inside the case called diffusers.
In case the leg portions
7
are engaged with the hook portions
12
of the hook fittings
10
and
11
as shown in
FIG. 3
, it is necessary to bend the leg portions
7
largely outwardly. Thus, in the assembling step of attaching the lid
6
to the case
3
, it is necessary to press the lid
6
against the case
3
strongly, resulting in a disadvantage in the assembling.
Also, in the structure disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication (KOKAI) No. H9-277897, it is necessary to extend the end portions of the diffusers up to the vicinity of the rim of the front surface of the case. As a result, the device becomes considerably heavy.
Accordingly, an object of the invention is to provide an airbag device which is easy to assemble and has a lid attaching member with a light weight.
Further objects and advantages of the invention will be apparent from the following description of the invention.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To achieve the aforementioned object, the present invention provides an airbag device which comprises: a case having an opening for allowing an airbag to pass therethrough in case of inflation of the airbag; an inflator attached to the case for generating a gas; the airbag accommodated in the case; a lid for covering the opening of the case; and a leg portion projecting from a rear surface of the lid for fixing the lid. In the airbag device of the invention, attaching members, which include inner projecting pieces disposed at an inside of the leg portion and outer projecting pieces disposed at an outside of the leg portion, are fixed to a rim portion of the opening of the case, and the leg portions are provided with first openings, into which the inner projecting pieces are inserted and engaged, and second openings, into which the outer projecting pieces are inserted and engaged.
In case of assembling the airbag device described above, when the leg portions of the lid are inserted between the inner projecting pieces and the outer projecting pieces, the inner projecting pieces are engaged with the first openings of the leg portions, and the outer projecting pieces are engaged with the second openings. Since the leg portions are engaged with and stopped by the projecting pieces from both the inside and the outside thereof, even if the engagements between the projecting pieces and the openings are loose, the projecting pieces and the openings are not disengaged. Therefore, it is not necessary to bend the leg portions significantly largely in case the leg portions of the lid are engaged with the attaching members, so that the attachment of the lid is simple. Also, the attaching member has a light weight.
In the airbag device structured as described above, preferably, the attaching member includes a main plate portion disposed on and fixed to the rim portion of the case, a protruding portion bent from the main plate portion toward an outside of the case, and a pendent portion bent from the protruding portion toward a bottom or rear side of the case, and the protruding portion is provided with an insertion hole for the leg portion. Also, it is preferable that the inner projecting pieces are formed in the main plate portion, and the outer projecting pieces are formed in the pendent portion, wherein the inner projecting pieces and the outer projecting pieces are respectively inclined toward the rear side. In this case, the leg portion is inserted into the insertion hole and guided therein to engage the openings and the projecting pieces. The leg portion hits the projecting pieces in the direction of the inclinations of the projecting pieces, so that the leg portion can be inserted smoothly inside the insertion hole. Also, after the projecting pieces and the openings are engaged, the projecting pieces can be surely prevented from disengaging from the openings.
Furthermore, the present invention provides an airbag device, comprising: a case including an opening for allowing an airbag to pass therethrough in case of deploying the airbag; an inflator attached to the case for generating a gas; the airbag accommodated in the case; a lid for covering the opening of the case; and a leg portion projecting from a rear surface of the lid for fixing the lid. In this airbag device, an inner plate portion, which is disposed at an inside of the leg portion, and an outer plate portion, which is disposed at an outside of the leg portion, are formed integrally with the case at a rim portion of the opening of th
Dickson Paul N.
Kanesaka & Takeuchi
Takata Corporation
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