Air bag apparatus

• US 20050029779A1
• Filed: 07/13/2004
• Published: 02/10/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 07/14/2003
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Hayashi, Kazutoshi, Bito, Kazuaki
• Granted Patent: US 7,404,575 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/728.200
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23324 Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/205 in dashboards
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2165 characterised by a tear line for defining a deployment opening
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/233 comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other B60R21/232 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/239 characterised by their venting means

Abstract

An air bag apparatus having a constitution of developing an air bag folded to contain in a case to a rear side of a vehicle by making an expanding gas flow from a gas flow inlet in expanding to develop the air bag. The air bag is arranged with a through hole. The air bag is constituted by a ring-like member arranged with a lower expanded portion arranged with a gas flow inlet, an upper expanded portion arranged to an upper side of the lower expanded portion to communicate with a front side of the lower expanded portion, and a rear expanded portion arranged to connect to a rear part of the lower expanded portion and a rear part of the upper expanded portion at a surrounding of the through hole. The air bag is constituted to finish to expand by closing the through hole.

Claims

1. An air bag apparatus comprising an air bag folded to inside of a case, wherein:

a through hole opens in a procedure of developing the air bag; and

the through hole is substantially closed in a state of finishing to expand the air bag.

2. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of expanded portions expanding when the air bag apparatus is operated, wherein the expanded portions include:

a lower expanded portion arranged with a gas flow inlet, the lower expanded portion being attached to the case at a peripheral edge thereof;

an upper expanded portion arranged on an upper side of the lower expanded portion so as to communicate with the lower expanded portion at a front part thereof; and

a rear expanded portion connecting a rear part of the lower expanded portion and a rear part of the upper expanded portion, so that the through hole penetrated substantially in a left and right direction of the air bag apparatus.

3. The air bag apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the air bag is arranged with rectifying unit for rectifying an expanding gas flowing from the gas flow inlet to direct to both sides of an upper side and a lower side at an inner portion thereof.

4. The air bag apparatus according to claim 2, wherein an expanding gas flowing from the gas flow inlet flows more to the lower side than the upper side.

5. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a plurality of expanded portions expanding when the air bag apparatus is operated, wherein the expanded portions include:

an inner peripheral side sheet disposed on an inner peripheral side face of the through hole; and

an outer peripheral side sheet disposed on an outer peripheral face side of the air bag to be opposed to the inner peripheral side sheet in finishing to expand the air bag, so that the through hole penetrated substantially in an up and down direction of the air bag apparatus.

6. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an inner portion of the expanded portion in the cylindrical shape is provided with a deflection portion disposed at a vicinity of a gas injecting port of the inflator for deflecting the injected gas in a left and right direction of the air bag apparatus.

7. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein an upper portion of the expanded portion in the cylindrical shape is provided with an upper portion width restricting member for restricting an amount of expanding the expanded portion in a vehicle width direction.

8. The air bag apparatus according to claim 7, wherein a lower portion width restricting member for restricting the amount of expanding the expanding portion in the vehicle width direction is provided at a rear expanded portion of the air bag.

9. The air bag apparatus according to claim 8, wherein a tension of the inner sheet forming the through hole is set to be smaller than a tension of the outer sheet.

10. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the through hole is located on a rear side of an instrument panel.

11. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a front side of the outer peripheral side sheet is arranged with a gas flow inlet a peripheral edge of which is attached to the case and which is opened for making the expanding gas flow thereinto;

and

in expanding the air bag, a lower opening of the through hole is displaced downward to a lower side before finishing the expansion of the air bag.

12. The air bag according to claim 11, wherein the air bag is previously folded in a state in which the air bag is not expanded such that the lower peripheral edge of the through hole is folded back to the upper side,

the gas flow inlet is brought into a state of being disposed on a side of a lower face thereof,

the outer peripheral side sheet is arranged on the upper side of the gas flow inlet by interposing the inner peripheral side sheet to develop flatly substantially symmetrically in a left and right direction of the air bag apparatus;

and

the air bag is folded by laterally folding the air bag to narrow a width dimension in a front and rear direction centering on the gas flow inlet by making a crease in the left and right direction and vertically folding the air bag to narrow a width dimension in the left and right direction by making a crease in a front an rear direction to constitute a dimension capable of being contained in the case.

13. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein a front side of the outer peripheral side sheet is arranged with a gas flow inlet a peripheral edge of which is attached to the case and which is opened for making the expanding gas flow thereinto, and

a guide moving means of a passenger side face of the outer sheet on which a passenger is protected is constituted by substantially a planar shape along substantially in a vertical direction and widely developed in the up and clown direction of the air bag apparatus and a left and right direction of the air bag apparatus and is made movable to a rear side of the vehicle in expanding the air bag.

14. The air bag apparatus according to claim 13, the guide moving means is constituted by folding the air bag, wherein:

the air bag is folded by previously folding the air bag and vertically folding and laterally folding the air bag after previously folding the air bag; and

the air bag after having been previously folded is arranged with the gas flow inlet to a lower face side in a state in which the air bag is not expanded, the inner peripheral side sheet is interposed above the gas flow inlet, a vicinity of a rear upper portion of the outer peripheral side sheet is arranged thereabove to be constituted by a shape of flatly developing substantially symmetrically in the left and right direction, and a position constituting a vicinity of an upper end of the passenger side face of the outer peripheral side sheet is arranged at a position opposed to the gas flow inlet.

15. The air bag apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the guide moving means is constituted by rectifying unit arranged in the air bag and capable of rectifying the expanding gas flowing from the gas flow inlet;

and

rectifying unit is arranged at a portion rearward from a front part of the air bag constituting a portion of a side of the gas flow inlet and constituted to be able to rectify the expanding gas to direct in the up and down direction.

20. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air bag folded in the case is developed to a rear side of the vehicle by making an expanding gas flow from a gas flow inlet in expanding to develop the air bag.

21. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air bag apparatus is arranged on a front side of a seated passenger.

22. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the through hole is brought into an opened state in expanding the air bag.

23. The air bag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the air bag apparatus protects a passenger by operating an inflator by a signal from an acceleration sensor in impacting a vehicle and expanding to develop an air bag on a rear side from a windshield over to an instrument panel by a generated gas.

24. The air bag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the air bag apparatus is installed at an instrument panel.

16. An air bag apparatus folded to contain in a case arranged at an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat and capable of being projected from the case to a rear side of a vehicle on a side of the passenger when an expanding gas flows thereinto,

wherein the air bag is constituted to arrange an upper expanded portion capable of protecting a head of the passenger on a rear side of the side of the passenger in finishing to expand the air bag and arranging a lower expanded portion capable of protecting a chest and belly of the passenger;

and

the lower expanded portion in finishing to expand the air bag is arranged by restraining a moving amount thereof more than a moving amount of moving a rear face of the upper expanded portion to a front side of the vehicle in finishing to expand the air bag in interfering with the passenger by being supported by a supporting member arranged on a front side of the vehicle.

17. The air bag apparatus according to claim 16, wherein the supporting member is constituted by a supporting bag bulged by making the expanding gas flow thereinto.

18. The air bag apparatus according to claim 17, wherein the supporting bag is arranged to communicate with the lower expanded portion.

19. The air bag apparatus according to claim 18, wherein the air bag is constituted as a ring-like member arranged with a through hole penetrated substantially in an up and down direction in finishing to expand the air bag and including a front expanded portion, a left expanded portion, a rear expanded portion and a right expanded portion such that the air bag finishes to expand by closing the through hole by a bulging base cloth at a surrounding thereof;

wherein the front expanded portion is constituted by arranging a gas flow inlet a peripheral edge of which is attached to the case and which makes the expanding gas flow thereinto;

the rear expanded portion is constituted by arranging the upper expanded portion on an upper side thereof and arranging the lower expanded portion on a lower side thereof; and

the supporting bag is constituted by the front expanded portion, the left expanded portion and the right expanded portion.