Airbag

• US 20100078919A1
• Filed: 09/24/2009
• Published: 04/01/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 09/30/2008
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kobayashi, Hiroyuki, Kajiro, Masamichi, Naruse, Motoaki
• Granted Patent: US 8,348,305 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 280/728.200
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23514 coated fabric
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23533 characterised by the manufacturing process
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/207 in vehicle seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/235 characterised by their material

Abstract

An airbag includes a body cloth made of polyamide woven fabric and constituting a circumferential wall of the airbag. The body cloth includes on the inner surface a bond area having a coating layer of polyamide elastomer and to which a supplementary cloth made of polyamide woven fabric is bonded, an extended area having a same coating layer of polyamide elastomer as on the bond area, and an uncoated area that has no coating layer. The coating layer on the bond area is used as heat sealable adhesive that adheres the supplementary cloth to the body cloth whereas that on the extend area is arranged in such a manner as to be exposed to inflation gas upon airbag inflation so as to act as a protective membrane for preventing gas leakage.

Claims

1. An airbag mountable on a vehicle comprising:

a body cloth made of polyamide woven fabric and constituting a circumferential wall of the airbag for inflation into a bag shape when fed with inflation gas, the body cloth including on an inner surface thereof;

a bond area having a coating layer of polyamide elastomer and to which a supplementary cloth made of polyamide woven fabric is bonded using the polyamide elastomer of the coating layer as heat sealable adhesive;

an extended area having a same coating layer of polyamide elastomer as on the bond area, the extended area being arranged in such a manner as to be exposed to inflation gas upon airbag inflation such that the coating layer acts as a protective membrane for preventing gas leakage; and

an uncoated area that has no coating layer thereon.

2. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein the supplementary cloth includes on a side adhered to the body cloth a same coating layer of polyamide elastomer as formed on the body cloth.

3. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein:

the airbag includes more than one supplementary cloths directly or indirectly bonded to the body cloth on the bond area such that the bond area has a laminated structure,

each component cloth forming the laminated structure, which includes the body cloth and the supplementary cloths, has the coating layer on one surface;

the bond area includes in between the component cloths an adhesion area that is formed of the coating layer as heat sealable adhesive and bonds a pair of the component cloths together;

the adhesion area is formed between a pair of component cloths immediately adjoining each other or between a pair of component cloths that have at least one other component cloth interposed and at a part of the other component cloth where there is no cloth; and

the base cloth and all the supplementary cloths are bonded together without slippage from one another in a direction orthogonal to a layering direction of the cloths.

4. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein:

the airbag includes a high-pressure chamber that is located upstream of inflation gas channel and a low-pressure chamber that is partially communicated with the high-pressure chamber and is kept at low pressure relative to the high-pressure chamber in the course of airbag inflation; and

the extended area having the coating layer constitutes the high-pressure chamber.

5. The airbag according to claim 4 wherein:

the airbag is configured to be mounted on a lateral of a seat of the vehicle;

the airbag includes a pelvis protection area that restrains a pelvis section of a seated occupant and an upper protection area that is located above the pelvis protection area for restraining a region of the occupant above the pelvis section; and

the high-pressure chamber constitutes the pelvis protection area and the low-pressure chamber constitutes the upper protection area.

6. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein the extended area having the coating layer is located on an area proximate a gas inlet port of the airbag which is to be subjected to mist of inflation gas.

7. The airbag according to claim 6 wherein:

the airbag is configured to be mounted in front of a front passenger'"'"'s seat of the vehicle;

the airbag includes a redirecting cloth that is arranged to cover the gas inlet port and includes a front outlet that redirects incoming inflation gas forward and a rear outlet that redirects incoming inflation gas rearward; and

the extended area having the coating layer is located in the vicinity of the front outlet and rear outlet of the redirecting cloth.

8. The airbag according to claim 7, wherein:

the body cloth includes a restraint panel arranged generally vertically facing toward the rear and a vehicle body side panel extending forward from an outer peripheral edge of the restraint panel in a generally square conical, narrowing fashion;

the vehicle body side panel as deployed includes an upper region which is a generally upper half circumferential region of the square cone and a lower region which is a generally lower half circumferential region of the square cone;

the gas inlet port is formed on a front area of the lower region such that the airbag is secured to an airbag housing at a peripheral area of the gas inlet port by being held down by a retainer housed in the airbag;

the redirecting cloth is formed into a tube extending in an anteroposterior direction, having a round opening shape and in which the front outlet has a greater opening area than the rear outlet;

the redirecting cloth is held down onto the airbag housing by the retainer together with the peripheral area of the gas inlet port;

in a vertical, anteroposterior sectional view of the airbag as secured to the airbag housing and fully inflated by itself, with respect to the height from a base line that extends along an opening plane of the gas inlet port, the height at an upper edge of the front outlet is greater than that at an upper edge of the rear outlet, and the upper edge of the rear outlet is located at the rear relative to a rear edge of a portion of the redirecting cloth held down by the retainer;

a region of the extended area in front of the front outlet extends upward on the upper region of the vehicle body side panel from a front edge of the redirecting cloth at the vicinity of a front periphery of the gas inlet port, up to or beyond an intersecting point of the upper region of the vehicle body side panel and a front perpendicular line that extends forward from the upper edge of the front outlet perpendicularly to a front vertical straight line that connects a point of the redirecting cloth immediately below a front end of the retainer and the upper edge of the front outlet; and

a region of the extended area at the rear of the rear outlet extends rearward on the lower region of the vehicle body side panel from a rear edge of the redirecting cloth at the vicinity of a rear periphery of the gas inlet port, up to or beyond an intersecting point of the lower region of the vehicle body side panel and a rear perpendicular line that extends rearward from the upper edge of the rear outlet perpendicularly to a rear vertical straight line that connects a point of the redirecting cloth immediately below a rear end of the retainer and the upper edge of the rear outlet.

9. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein the supplementary cloth acts as a reinforcing cloth that improves heat resistance or tensile strength of the body cloth or as a redirecting cloth that redirects incoming inflation gas.

10. The airbag according to claim 1 wherein the bond area is located on an area surrounding mounting holes for receiving means for mounting the airbag to a predetermined location of the vehicle.