Support structure for airbag apparatus

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10351089-B2
Application number	US-201715658766-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Jul 25, 2017
Priority date	Jul 29, 2016
Publication date	Jul 16, 2019
Grant date	Jul 16, 2019

Abstract

A support structure for an airbag apparatus includes an airbag apparatus having a bag holder, a pin, a pin holder, a damper holder, an elastic member, a motion transmitting portion, a motion receiving portion, and a noise suppressing portion. The pin includes a shaft portion passed through a mounting hole provided in the bag holder and a flange portion formed at the rear end of the shaft portion. The pin holder slidably covers the shaft portion. The damper holder is mounted to the airbag apparatus while covering the pin holder. The elastic member includes an elastic body portion. A gap is provided inside the motion transmitting portion. The noise suppressing portion is located between the gap and the pin holder, is made of a material softer than the pin holder, and has an inner diameter smaller than the inner diameter of the elastic body portion.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A support structure for an airbag apparatus, comprising:
an airbag apparatus that functions as a damper mass of a dynamic damper and includes a bag holder;
a pin including
a shaft portion that extends in a front-rear direction and is passed through a mounting hole provided in the bag holder, and
a flange portion that is formed at a rear end of the shaft portion and is unable to be passed through the mounting hole,
wherein the pin is mounted to a steering wheel at a front end of the shaft portion and supports the airbag apparatus at a rear portion of the shaft portion;

a pin holder that slidably covers the shaft portion while being passed through the mounting hole;
a damper holder that is mounted to the airbag apparatus while covering the pin holder;
an elastic member including an annular elastic body portion that is arranged between the pin holder and the damper holder and functions as a spring of the dynamic damper;
a motion transmitting portion that is provided in an inner circumferential portion of the damper holder and passed through the mounting hole; and
a motion receiving portion that protrudes from an outer circumferential surface of the pin holder, wherein
a forward motion of the damper holder is transmitted to the pin holder at least via the motion transmitting portion and the motion receiving portion,
a gap is provided inside the motion transmitting portion,
the support structure further comprises a noise suppressing portion that is located between the gap and the pin holder, and
the noise suppressing portion is made of a material softer than the pin holder and has an inner diameter smaller than an inner diameter of the elastic body portion.

2. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the motion transmitting portion is arranged forward of the elastic body portion,
a recess is formed in an outer circumferential portion of the pin holder, the recess being located forward of the elastic body portion, and
the noise suppressing portion is mounted by being fitted in the recess.

3. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising an elastic plate portion that is made of a material softer than the motion receiving portion,
wherein the elastic plate portion is arranged forward of the gap and between the motion transmitting portion and the motion receiving portion.

4. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the damper holder includes
a bottom wall portion that is arranged forward of the elastic body portion while being in contact with a front surface of the elastic body portion, and
a circumferential wall portion that extends rearward from an outer circumferential portion of the bottom wall portion and surrounds the elastic body portion, and

the motion transmitting portion constitutes part of the damper holder and projects forward from an inner circumferential portion of the bottom wall portion.

5. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein a restricting portion is provided at a rear end of the pin holder, and the restricting portion restricts the elastic member from moving rearward relative to the pin holder.

6. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
the bag holder includes a temporary receiving portion, and
the damper holder includes a temporary joint portion that temporarily holds the damper holder with respect to the temporary receiving portion.

7. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein
the bag holder is configured to be bent along a first imaginary line, which passes through the mounting hole, when the airbag apparatus is activated,
the temporary receiving portion is one of a pair of temporary receiving portions,
the temporary receiving portions are constituted by two cutout portions that are provided on an inner wall surface of the mounting hole at two positions opposed to each other with an axis of the mounting hole in between,
the temporary joint portion is one of a pair of temporary joint portions,
the temporary joint portions are respectively locked to the cutout portions, and
the cutout portions are provided on a second imaginary line, which intersects with the first imaginary line.

8. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein
a peripheral portion of the mounting hole in the bag holder bulges rearward with respect to remaining portions of the bag holder, and
the mounting hole is located rearward of the motion receiving portion.

9. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising:
an urging member that urges the airbag apparatus rearward and away from the steering wheel;
a fixed contact portion that is constituted by a rear end of the pin; and
a movable contact portion that is mounted to the airbag apparatus, wherein
when the airbag apparatus is not pushed down, the movable contact portion is separated rearward from the fixed contact portion, and
when the airbag apparatus is pushed down, the movable contact portion contacts the fixed contact portion to activate a horn device.

10. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 9 , further comprising a contact holder, wherein
the contact holder covers, from rear, the pin, the pin holder, the elastic member, and the damper holder,
the movable contact portion is mounted to the contact holder,
the movable contact portion is made of band-shaped spring steel having conductivity, and
opposite ends of the movable contact portion are pressed against the bag holder by the contact holder about the mounting hole.

11. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a plurality of ribs provided at a plurality of positions separated from each other in a circumferential direction of the gap,
wherein each rib has elasticity and occupies the corresponding position in the gap.

12. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein each rib is provided in at least one of the noise suppressing portion and the motion transmitting portion.

13. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 12 , wherein each rib is integrally formed with the noise suppressing portion.

14. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein a rear end face of each rib is inclined with respect to an axis of the pin so as to be closer to the noise suppressing portion toward a rear side.

15. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 13 , wherein a front end face of each rib is inclined with respect to an axis of the pin so as to be closer to the noise suppressing portion toward a front side.

16. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the ribs are an even number of ribs, and
each rib is located at a position opposed to another rib with an axis of the pin in between.

17. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 11 , wherein
the ribs are provided at four or greater even number of positions around an axis of the pin, and
the ribs are arranged at equal angular intervals.

18. The support structure for an airbag apparatus according to claim 1 , wherein the pin is mounted to the steering wheel at the front end of the shaft portion by a snap-fit structure.

Assignees

• Toyoda Gosei Kk

Inventors

• Ishii Tsutomu
• Yanagisawa Toshihito
• Hayashi Mikine
• Sato Yuji
• Kawamura Koji

Classifications

• B60R2021/0004

  Frontal collision · CPC title

• B60R21/2037 Primary

  the module or a major component thereof being yieldably mounted, e.g. for actuating the horn switch or for protecting the driver in a non-deployment situation (horn switches integrated in steering wheel covers with tear lines B60R21/21658) · CPC title

• B60R2021/0032

  Position of passenger · CPC title