VEHICLE FAR-SIDE AIRBAG APPARATUS

• US 20150158453A1
• Filed: 11/28/2014
• Published: 06/11/2015
• Est. Priority Date: 12/06/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: FUJIWARA, Yusuke
• Granted Patent: US 9,296,357 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23146 seat mounted
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/207 in vehicle seats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/23138 specially adapted for side protection B60R21/23184, B60R21/232 take precedence

Abstract

A vehicle far-side airbag apparatus includes an inflator that is provided in a side portion on a vehicle width direction center side of a seatback of a vehicle seat, and generates gas by being activated; and an airbag that is fixed to a seatback frame inside the side portion, and in which an occupant restraining portion inflates and deploys toward a vehicle front side of the side portion in response to the gas being supplied into the occupant restraining portion, and a rearward extending portion inflates and deploys farther to a vehicle rear side than the portion where the airbag is fixed, in response to the gas being supplied into the rearward extending portion.

Claims

1. A vehicle far-side airbag apparatus comprising:

an inflator that is provided in a side portion on a vehicle width direction center side of a seatback of a vehicle seat, and generates gas by being activated; and

an airbag that is fixed to a seatback frame inside the side portion, and in which an occupant restraining portion inflates and deploys toward a vehicle front side of the side portion in response to the gas being supplied into the occupant restraining portion, and a rearward extending portion inflates and deploys farther to a vehicle rear side than the portion where the airbag is fixed, in response to the gas being supplied into the rearward extending portion.

2. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the rearward extending portion inflates and deploys farther to the vehicle rear side than a back surface of the seatback.

3. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the rearward extending portion extends from a lower portion of a rear end portion of the occupant restraining portion.

4. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising:

a front-rear partitioning tether that divides the airbag into a front bag portion and a rear bag portion, and in which a communication hole is formed for supplying the gas from the inflator housed inside the rear bag portion into the front bag portion, wherein

the rearward extending portion is provided on the rear bag portion.

5. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the front-rear partitioning tether includes a transversely extending portion that extends toward a front side of the seatback from an up-down middle portion of a rear end of the airbag, an up-down extending portion that extends toward an upper side of the seatback from a longitudinally middle portion of a lower end of the airbag, and an arc-shaped portion provided between a front end of the transversely extending portion and an upper end of the up-down extending portion;

and

the arc-shaped portion forms art arc shape in which a side toward the front side of the seatback is convex when viewed from a side, and protrudes out farther toward the front side of the seatback than the up-down extending portion.

6. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 4, wherein

the occupant restraining portion restrains a head and a front portion a chest and an abdomen of an occupant with the front bag portion, and restrains a shoulder and a rear portion of the chest and the abdomen of the occupant with the rear bag portion.

7. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the airbag is housed in the seatback in a state in which, from a planar deployed state, an upper portion of the occupant restraining portion is folded toward an up-down center portion of the occupant restraining portion, the rearward extending portion is folded toward a connecting portion of the occupant restraining portion, and a lower portion of the occupant restraining portion is folded to near a connecting portion of the rearward extending portion, together with the folded upper portion of the occupant restraining portion.

8. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the inflator is housed in a flow straightening cloth;

an upper end opening that is open toward a vehicle upper side is formed in an upper end portion of the flow straightening cloth, a lower end opening that is open toward a vehicle lower side is formed in a lower end pardon of the flow straightening cloth, and a middle opening that is open toward the vehicle rear side is formed in an up-down middle portion of the flow straightening cloth.

9. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a seat cover of the seatback is configured to deploy toward the vehicle rear side when the airbag inflates and deploys.

10. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

a seatback board is attached to a back surface of the seatback;

the rearward extending portion protrudes out farther to the vehicle rear side than the seatback board, on the vehicle width direction center side with respect to the seatback board; and

when the airbag is in an inflated and deployed state, a vehicle width direction outside surface of the rearward extending portion opposes a surface on the vehicle width direction center side of a rear portion side of a side frame of the seatback frame and an end portion on the vehicle width direction center side of the seatback board.

11. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 1, wherein

the vehicle far-side airbag apparatus is mounted in each of left vehicle seat and a right vehicle seat.

12. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

left and right airbags are both activated when a side collision of a vehicle is detected.

13. The vehicle far-side airbag apparatus according to claim 11, wherein

the left and right airbags are configured to oppose each other and abut or be close together, when the left and right airbags inflate and deploy.