Airbag apparatus and method of folding airbag

• US 20050212275A1
• Filed: 03/22/2005
• Published: 09/29/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 03/23/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Japan K.K.
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Hasebe, Masahiro
• Granted Patent: US 7,370,880 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/743.100
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0044 Chest
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23382 Internal tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/2375 Folding devices
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/201 Packaging straps or envelopes for inflatable members
• 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

Abstract

An airbag apparatus receives an occupant'"'"'s left breast by an expanded left airbag section and receives the right breast by a right airbag section. A void space of the expanded airbag opposes the lateral center of the occupant'"'"'s breast. Both the left and right airbag sections expand smoothly and substantially evenly. The left and right airbag sections are folded firstly to obtain a first folded body elongated in the fore-and-aft direction and, subsequently, the distal sides from a joint belt, which connect the midsections in the expanding direction of the left and right airbag sections, are opened laterally apart from each other. The rear sides from the joint belt are folded so as to be reduced in width in the fore-and aft direction to obtain the second folded body, and then the lateral width is reduced by the third folding operation to obtain the final folded body.

Claims

1. An airbag apparatus comprising:

a folded airbag and an inflator configured to expand the airbag in which the distal side of the airbag is expanded in the direction away from the proximal side by injected gas from the inflator disposed on the proximal side of the airbag, the airbag including a left airbag section which expands on the left side in front of the occupant and a right airbag section which expands on the right side in front of the occupant,

wherein the left airbag section and the right airbag section are not connected at the distal ends thereof, thereby defining a void space which is opened toward the occupant between the distal ends of the left airbag section and the right airbag section in the expanded state, in that the midsection of the left airbag section and the right airbag section in the direction of expansion are connected, and in that the left airbag section and the right airbag section are respectively formed into a first folded body elongated in the fore-and-aft direction by a first folding step, then into a second folded body by the steps of moving the portions of the left airbag section and the right airbag section on the distal sides from the joint portion away from each other and folding the rear sides from the joint portion so as to be narrowed in width in the for-and-aft direction, and subsequently, into a final folded body by reducing the lateral width by a third folding step.

2. An airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the midsections of the left airbag section and the right airbag section in the vertical direction are connected to each other.

3. An airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the upper portions and the lower portions of the left airbag section and the right airbag section are connected respectively.

4. An airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein part of the second folded body is wrapped by a protector cloth.

5. An airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein part of the final folded body is wrapped by a protector cloth.

6. An airbag apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the protector cloth that wraps the second folded body and the protector cloth that wraps the final folded body are continuously formed.

7. An airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein suspending belts are extended between panels constituting right and left walls of the respective left airbag section and right airbag section for limiting the lateral widths in the expanded state.

8. A method of folding an airbag to obtain the first folded body of the airbag in the airbag apparatus according to claim 3, comprising:

placing an elongated plate on the outer surface of the left airbag section or the right airbag section so as to be extended in the fore-and-aft direction of the airbag;

folding the left airbag section and the right airbag section by a plurality of times in a direction of winding the airbag along the long sides of the plate to obtain the first folded body; and

pulling the plate out from the first folding body.

9. A method of folding an airbag for folding the airbag into an elongated folded body comprising:

placing an elongated plate on the airbag and folding the airbag by a plurality of times in the direction of winding the airbag along the long side of the plate; and

pulling out the plate from the folding body.