Lateral airbag device

• US 20070138774A1
• Filed: 02/12/2007
• Published: 06/21/2007
• Est. Priority Date: 08/13/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Germany GmbH (Ningbo Junsheng Investment Group Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Takata-Petri AG
• Inventors: Klima, Josef, Sievers, Thomas
• Granted Patent: US 7,654,562 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/730.200
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23324 Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23332 using independent bags, one within the other
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/207 in vehicle seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2165 characterised by a tear line for defining a deployment opening
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/23138 specially adapted for side protection B60R21/23184, B60R21/232 take precedence

Abstract

A lateral airbag device comprises a gas bag which is mounted in a vehicle seat below the seat covering of the vehicle seat. The gas bag is inflated in the event of an accident. The seat covering comprises at least one break line, which can be torn open when the gas bag unfolds enabling the gas bag to exit the vehicle seat. The lateral airbag device is capable of protecting the occupants of a vehicle in the event of an accident in a reliable manner. The seat covering is configured to bring the unfolding gas bag to a predetermined position or to maintain the unfolded gas bag in the predetermined positioned.

Claims

1. A lateral airbag device, comprising:

an airbag mounted in a vehicle seat below a seat cover of the vehicle seat, the airbag being inflated in an event of a vehicle accident,

wherein the seat cover includes at least one tear seam which is torn open by the deploying airbag and permits the airbag to emerge from the vehicle seat, and

wherein the deploying airbag deploys into a predetermined position by the configuration of the seat cover, or the seat cover maintains a predetermined position of the airbag.

2. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat cover includes at least two tear seam sections which are separated by a non-tearing-open seat cover section, and wherein at least a partial section of the airbag is kept back in an interior of the vehicle seat by the non-tearing-open seat cover section.

3. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 1, further comprising at least one supporting element is fastened to the seat cover in a region of the tear seam in such a manner that the airbag region tearing open the tear seam is supported by the supporting element.

4. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supporting element is sewn to the seat cover.

5. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 3, wherein the supporting element is formed by a supporting bag, the supporting bag being fastened to the seat cover in the region of the tear seam in such a manner that that airbag region of the airbag which is assigned to the supporting bag deploys into the supporting bag and pushes the supporting bag outward out of the interior of the seat.

6. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a supporting element fastened to the seat cover in a region of at least one of the at least two tear seam sections in such a manner that the airbag region passing through the tear seam section is supported by the supporting element.

7. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supporting element is sewn to the seat cover.

8. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 6, wherein the supporting element is formed by a supporting bag, the supporting bag being fastened to the seat cover in the region of the tear seam section in such a manner that that airbag region of the airbag which passes through the torn-open tear seam section deploys into the supporting bag and pushes the supporting bag outward out of the interior of the seat.

9. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 1, wherein the seat cover includes at least two tear seam sections, each tear seam section having different tearing-opening behavior.

10. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 9, characterized in that one of the at least two tear seam sections requires a greater tearing-open force than the other tear seam section.

11. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 10, wherein the seat cover includes two outer tear seam sections which are separated by a tear seam section situated inbetween, the tear seam section which is situated inbetween having a greater tearing-open force than the two outer tear seam sections, and, during the deployment of the airbag, the tear seam section which is situated inbetween only tears open after the two outer tear seam sections have been torn open, and initially keeping back at least a partial section of the airbag in an interior of the vehicle seat during a first phase of the deployment operation of the airbag.

12. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the different tearing-open behavior of the tear seam sections is at least based on the different stitch spacing of each of the seams.

13. The lateral airbag device as claimed in claim 9, wherein the different tearing-open behavior of the tear seam sections is at least based on each of the tear seam sections having a different number of tear seams.

14. A vehicle seat, comprising:

a lateral airbag device that includes an airbag mounted in a vehicle seat below a seat cover of the vehicle seat, the airbag being inflated in an event of a vehicle accident,

wherein the seat cover includes at least one tear seam which is torn open by the deploying airbag and permits the airbag to emerge from the vehicle seat, and

wherein the deploying airbag deploys into a predetermined position by the configuration of the seat cover, or the seat cover maintains a predetermined position of the airbag.

15. A method for protecting a vehicle occupant, comprising:

positioning an airbag in a vehicle seat such that the airbag is inflated in an event of an accident; and

tearing open at least one tear seam in a seat cover of the vehicle seat such that the airbag deploys through an opening from the opened tear seam,

wherein a position of the deploying or of the deployed airbag is determined by the seat cover.

16. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the airbag is supported by the seat cover.

17. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the positioning is carried out by at least one non-tearing-open seat cover section which separates two tear seam sections from each other by at least one partial section of the airbag being kept back in an interior of the vehicle seat by the non-tearing-open seat cover section.

18. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the positioning is carried out by a supporting element fastened to the seat cover in a region of the tear seam by the airbag region tearing open the tear seam being supported by said supporting element.

19. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the supporting element is sewn to the seat cover.

20. The method as claimed in claim 18, wherein the supporting element includes a supporting bag fastened to the seat cover in the region of the tear seam in such a manner that that airbag region of the airbag which is situated in the region of the supporting bag deploys into the supporting bag and pushes the supporting bag outward out of the interior of the seat.

21. The method as claimed in claim 17, wherein the positioning is also carried out by at least one supporting element which is fastened to the seat cover in a region of one of the at least two tear seam sections in such a manner that the airbag region passing through the tear seam section is supported by the supporting element.

22. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the supporting element is sewn to the seat cover.

23. The method as claimed in claim 21, wherein the supporting element includes a supporting bag fastened to the seat cover in the region of the tear seam section in such a manner that that airbag region of the airbag which passes through the tear seam section deploys into the supporting bag and pushes the latter outward.

24. The method as claimed in claim 15, wherein the positioning of the deploying airbag is brought about by at least two tear seam sections, each tear seam section having different tearing-open behavior.

25. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein one of the at least two tear seam sections requires a greater tearing-open force than the other tear seam section.

26. The method as claimed in claim 25, wherein the seat cover includes two outer tear seam sections separated by a tear seam section which is situated inbetween, the tear seam section which is situated inbetween having a greater tearing-open force than the two outer tear seam sections, and, during the deployment of the airbag, the tear seam section which is situated inbetween only tears open after the two outer tear seam sections have been torn open, and initially keeping back at least a partial section of the airbag in the interior of the vehicle seat during a first phase of the deployment operation of the airbag.

27. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the different tearing-open behavior of the tear seam sections is at least based on each of the seams having different stitch spacing.

28. The method as claimed in claim 24, wherein the different tearing-opening behavior of the tear seam sections is at least based on each of the tear seam sections having a different number of tear seams.