Vehicle Side Airbag Device and Vehicle Seat

• US 20160159313A1
• Filed: 06/10/2014
• Published: 06/09/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 07/31/2013
• 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 9,969,348 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0032 Position of passenger
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23146 seat mounted
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23324 Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23382 Internal tether means
• 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
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/26 characterised by the inflation fluid source or means to control inflation fluid flow arrangement or mounting thereof to the vehicle B60R21/20; blasting cartridges for producing gas under pressure in general F42B3/04; initiators or igniters therefor F42B3/10

Abstract

Influence from a rear bag section is prevented or suppressed from being applied to an occupant out of position. In a state in which a side airbag inflates and deploys frontward of a side support section of a seat back, a front-rear partition cloth that partitions a bag body into a front bag section and a rear bag section brings an intermediate portion in a vehicle width direction of a front surface of the rear bag section to be recessed toward a vehicle rearward direction so as to be a valley-shaped recessed portion. Through this, even if the side airbag inflates and deploys while the occupant is located frontward of the side support section, it is possible to prevent or suppress influence from the rear bag section to this occupant.

Claims

1-21. -21. (canceled)

22. A vehicle side airbag device comprising:

an inflator that generates gas by being actuated;

a bag body formed in a bag form, the bag body housed in a folded-up state inside a side support section of a seat back of a vehicle seat, the bag body inflating and deploying to a vehicle frontward direction of the side support section if the gas is supplied inside the bag body; and

a front-rear partition that partitions the bag body into a front bag section and a rear bag section, the front-rear partition bringing an intermediate portion in a vehicle width direction of a front surface of the rear bag section to be recessed toward a vehicle rearward direction if the inflation and deployment state of the bag body is viewed from a plan sectional view.

23. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, wherein

the front-rear partition partitions the rear bag section into left and right chambers that are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction in the inflation and deployment state.

24. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 23, wherein

the front-rear partition includes a left partition and a right partition that are arranged side by side in the vehicle width direction in the inflation and deployment state.

25. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 23, wherein

the inflator and a rectifying portion that distributes the gas from the inflator into the left and right chambers are provided inside the rear bag section, and

left and right communicating ports that respectively communicate the left and right chambers with an inside of the front bag section are formed in the front-rear partition.

26. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 25, wherein

the rectifying portion is composed of part of the front-rear partition.

27. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 26, wherein

the rectifying portion is formed in a cylindrical shape having flexibility, and

the inflator is housed inside the rectifying portion.

28. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 27, wherein

an aperture is formed in an intermediate portion in an axial direction of the rectifying portion.

29. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, wherein

if the inflation and deployment state is viewed from the vehicle width direction, the front-rear partition is provided in such a manner that at least part of a front edge of the rear bag section is located at a more vehicle rearward position than a front edge of the side support section.

30. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 29, wherein

the seat back is located at a lateral position of a side door of the vehicle, and

the at least part of the front edge of the rear bag section is defined at a height equivalent to a height of an upper surface of an armrest provided to the side door.

31. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, wherein

the front-rear partition is provided in such a manner that the front edge of the inflating and deploying rear bag section extends along an up-down direction of the seat back.

32. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, wherein

the front-rear partition is provided in such a manner that the front edge of the inflating and deploying rear bag section is composed of a vertical extending portion extending along the up-down direction of the seat back and a tilting portion obliquely upwardly extending in the vehicle frontward direction from an upper end of the vertical extending portion.

33. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 32, further comprising:

an up-down partition that partitions the bag body into the front and rear bag sections and a lower bag section; and

a check valve that guides the gas from the inflator provided inside the rear bag section into the lower bag section, the check valve restricting a gas flow from the lower bag section to the rear bag section by increase in inner pressure of the lower bag section.

34. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 33, wherein

if the inflation and deployment state is viewed from the vehicle width direction, the up-down partition is so defined as to downwardly tilt in the frontward direction relative to a front-rear direction of the seat back.

35. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 24, wherein

the front-rear partition is a front-rear partition cloth formed of a cloth material, and the front-rear partition cloth integrally includes the left partition and the right partition, and the cylindrical-shaped rectifying portion that distributes the gas from the inflator to the left and right chambers.

36. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 29, wherein

the at least part is a lower portion of the front edge of the rear bag section.

37. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 23, wherein

the left and right chambers are formed to be left-right asymmetric.

38. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 23, wherein

in an upper portion of the rear bag section, a front extending portion that extends above the front bag section in the inflation and deployment state is formed, and

the upper portion of the rear bag section including the front extending portion is not partitioned into the left and right chambers.

39. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 23, wherein

in an upper portion of the rear bag section, a front extending portion that extends above the front bag section in the inflation and deployment state is formed, and

the upper portion of the rear bag section including the front extending portion is partitioned into the left and right chambers.

40. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 35, wherein

in the front-rear partition cloth, the left partition and the right partition are stitched to the rectifying portion at a seam, and

the left partition and the right partition are stitched to each other at another seam defined to be closer to a front end of the bag body than the seam.

41. The vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, wherein

the front-rear partition includes:

a main body that partitions the bag body into the front bag section and the rear bag section;

a cylindrical-shaped rectifying portion that is stitched to a rear end of the bag body, and rectifies the gas from the inflator; and

a strap portion extending across between the main body and the rectifying portion.

42. A vehicle seat comprising:

a seat cushion;

a seat back; and

the vehicle side airbag device according to claim 22, the vehicle side airbag device housed inside a side support section of the seat back in a state in which the bag body is folded up.