Airbag system

• US 20050242551A1
• Filed: 04/25/2005
• Published: 11/03/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 04/28/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Japan K.K.
• Original Assignee: Takata Corporation (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: Noguchi, Atsushi, Hiraoka, Kenji
• Granted Patent: US 7,441,796 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/730.200
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded

Abstract

An airbag system includes at least an airbag and a gas supply device. The airbag is mounted to an upper part of a sidewall of a vehicle and has a function of protecting an occupant by inflating downwardly into an occupant protection region between the occupant and the sidewall of the vehicle in a car accident such as a side crash or rolling sideways. The gas supply device having a gas generating function supplies inflation gas to the airbag. The airbag has a folded portion and an extending portion. The folded portion is folded in a predetermined folded shape in advance. The extending portion extends downwardly along the folded portion so as to cover a side of the folded portion from an interior side of the vehicle when the airbag is mounted to the vehicle.

Claims

1. An airbag system for protecting an occupant, comprising:

an airbag to be mounted above a side of a vehicle to be inflated downwardly into an occupant protection region between the occupant and the side of the vehicle, said airbag having a folded portion folded in a predetermined shape and an extending portion extending downwardly along the folded portion for covering a side of the folded portion from an interior side of the vehicle when the airbag is mounted to the vehicle, and

a gas supply device for supplying inflation gas to the airbag.

2. An airbag system according to claim 1, wherein said extending portion includes a first extending portion located above the folded portion and a second extending portion extending along the side of the folded portion.

3. An airbag system according to claim 2, wherein said first extending portion is connected to the gas supply device, and the second extending portion is connected between the first extending portion and the folded portion and covers the side of the folded portion.

4. An airbag system according to claim 3, wherein said folded portion is located under the first extending portion when the airbag is deployed so that the folded portion starts to deploy after the first and second extending portions deploy.

5. An airbag system according to claim 3, further comprising a third extending portion attached to the folded portion and folded and located under the folded portion.

6. An airbag system according to claim 1, wherein said folded portion includes a rolled portion rolled in a roll shape so that the rolled portion is inflated in a region corresponding to a head of the occupant in the occupant protection region while being restrained by the extending portion from deploying directly towards the head of the occupant from above the vehicle sidewall.