Vehicular pedestrian protecting airbag device

• US 9,834,172 B2
• Filed: 12/22/2014
• Issued: 12/05/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 12/24/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hara, Yasuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): GOODEN JR, BARRY J
• Application Number:
  US15/103,506
• Publication Number:
  US 20160311395A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,079 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/34 Protecting non-occupants of a vehicle, e.g. pedestrians B60R19/02 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/36 using airbags
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/38 using means for lifting bonnets

Abstract

A vehicular pedestrian protecting airbag device that is capable of suppressing increases in weight and cost accompanying reinforcement measures, and capable of maintaining good pedestrian protection performance of an upper face of a hood. An automobile pedestrian protecting airbag device is installed at a vehicle lower side of a rear end section of a hood at a vehicle rear side of a protruded portion. A pedestrian protecting airbag and an inflator are installed inside a module case. The inflator is attached to a bottom wall of the protruded portion by inflator attachment brackets each formed with an excess length portion at an intermediate portion. Accordingly, when the inflators attempt to move toward the vehicle front side due to deployment reaction force of the pedestrian protecting airbag, the excess length portions are compressed and deform to enable the deployment reaction force to escape.

Claims

1. A vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device comprising:

an inflator that is installed at a lower side of a rear end section of a hood capable of being raised toward a vehicle upper side at the rear end section, and that ejects gas on actuation;

a pedestrian protection airbag that is stowed in a folded state at the lower side of the rear end section of the hood, and that inflates and deploys from between the rear end section of the hood and a windshield glass toward a vehicle upper face side and a vehicle rear side by being supplied with gas from the inflator; and

an inflator attachment bracket configured including a first fixing portion fixed to a lower face side of the rear end section of the hood, a second fixing portion to which the inflator is fixed, and a deformation portion that is provided between the first fixing portion and the second fixing portion and that plastically deforms by stretching or compressing so as to permit movement of the inflator toward an opposite direction from an inflation and deployment direction of the pedestrian protection airbag.

2. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, wherein:

the inflator attachment bracket is configured by a plate member;

the deformation portion is configured by an excess length portion formed in the plate member; and

as viewed from a side of the hood, the excess length portion is formed in any shape selected from the group consisting of a hill shape, a wave shape, a W-shape, a V-shape, a sideways S-shape, an M-shape, an N-shape, and a circular arc shape.

3. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, wherein:

the inflator attachment bracket is configured from a plate member; and

the deformation portion is configured as a stretching portion provided at a periphery of a weakened portion at the plate member.

4. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, further comprising:

a module case that internally houses the pedestrian protection airbag; and

an inflator case that is attached to a front wall portion of the module case through a sealing member, and that is capable of detaching from the module case under input of contact load from the inflator.

5. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, further comprising a module case that internally houses the inflator and the pedestrian protection airbag, wherein

a planned rupture portion that ruptures under input of contact load from the inflator is set in the module case at a location facing the inflator.

6. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, wherein:

the inflator is formed in a straight column shape and is disposed with a length direction along a vehicle front-rear direction; and

the inflator attachment bracket has the second fixing portion disposed at a central portion and the first fixing portion respectively provided at both sides of the second fixing portion, and has the deformation portion respectively provided between each of the first fixing portions and the second fixing portion.

7. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, further comprising a stopper that is provided on a movement direction side of the inflator, and that limits a movement amount of the inflator by impeding the inflator attachment bracket or the inflator.

8. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 7, wherein the stopper is configured by a separate component fixed to a hood inner panel configuring an inner side member of the hood.

9. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 7, wherein the stopper is configured by a vertical wall of a protruded portion, the protruded portion being integrally formed with a rear end section side of a hood inner panel configuring an inner side member of the hood and protruding toward the vehicle lower side.

10. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 1, wherein:

a protruded portion is formed at a vehicle rear side of a hood inner panel so as to protrude out toward the vehicle lower side and extend along a vehicle width direction, the protruded portion being provided at a position offset further toward a vehicle front side than the rear end section of the hood; and

the inflator and the pedestrian protection airbag are disposed in a storage space formed at a hood inner panel at the vehicle rear side of the protruded portion.

11. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 10, wherein the inflator is attached to a bottom wall of the protruded portion of the hood inner panel by employing the inflator attachment bracket.

12. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 11, wherein the inflator attachment bracket is manufactured by pressing a belt-shaped metal plate member that is long and thin in a vehicle front-rear direction.

13. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 11, wherein the second fixing portion is formed in a semicircular shape bulging toward the vehicle lower side, and the inflator is fixed to an upper face of the second fixing portion.

14. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of either claim 11, further comprising

a module case that is formed in an elongated substantially box shape with a length direction in the vehicle width direction, that stows the inflator and the pedestrian airbag, and that includes an upper side attachment wall and a lower side attachment wall, wherein

the first fixing portion of the inflator attachment bracket is fastened to the bottom wall of the protruded portion of the hood inner panel together with the upper side attachment wall and the lower side attachment wall in a state of being clamped between the upper side attachment wall and the lower side attachment wall.

15. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of claim 14, wherein:

the module case further includes a front wall portion provided upright along a rear end wall of the protruded portion; and

an excess length portion includes a first inclined portion facing a front wall portion along a vehicle front-rear direction, a second inclined portion facing the inflator along the vehicle front-rear direction, and an apex portion connecting the first inclined portion and the second inclined portion together.

16. The vehicular pedestrian protection airbag device of either claim 14, wherein the second fixing portion is disposed at a position separated from a front wall portion of the module case by a specific distance toward the vehicle rear side.