HEAD-PROTECTING AIRBAG DEVICE

• US 20160185314A1
• Filed: 12/17/2015
• Published: 06/30/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 12/26/2014
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: KAWAMURA, Koji, SATO, Yuji, OKUHARA, Masaaki, HOTTA, Masashi, HIRAIWA, Takuya, IIDA, Takashi
• Granted Patent: US 9,610,916 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 1/1
• 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 21/2338 Tethers

Abstract

An airbag of a head-protecting airbag device includes a bag body and a connecting member. The bag body includes a general inflatable portion and a terminal inflatable portion adjoining the general inflatable portion and located at a terminal region in a front and rear direction of the bag body. The connecting member is disposed over an outboard side of the terminal inflatable portion and includes at the leading end a mounting portion to be secured to a periphery of a vehicle window. The root end of the connecting member is jointed to a closed portion of the bag body at least by two jointing points disposed away from each other in an up and down direction. The jointing points are generally equally distant from the mounting portion.

Claims

1. A head-protecting airbag device having an airbag that is mountable on an upper periphery of a window of a vehicle on an inboard side of the vehicle in a folded-up configuration and is deployable downward over the window, the airbag comprising:

a bag body that is adapted to be mounted on a vehicle body structure at the upper periphery of the window by a plurality of positions on an upper edge of the bag body, the bag body including;

an inflatable portion that is inflatable with an inflation gas fed by an inflator in such a manner as to separate an inboard side wall and an outboard side wall of the bag body, the inflatable portion including a general inflatable portion and a terminal inflatable portion that adjoins the general inflatable portion and is located at a terminal region in a front and rear direction of the bag body as deployed; and

a closed portion at which the inboard side wall and the outboard side wall are jointed together;

a connecting member that is formed of a flexible sheet material and disposed over an outboard side of the terminal inflatable portion for exerting a tension force generally along a front and rear direction thereof at deployment of the bag body, the connecting member including a first end that is jointed to the closed portion of the bag body and a second end provided with a mounting portion which is adapted to be secured to the vehicle body structure in the periphery of the window distant from the terminal region of the bag body; and

at least two jointing points that joint the first end of the connecting member to the closed portion of the bag body, the jointing points being disposed away from each other in an up and down direction, wherein distances between each of the jointing points and the mounting portion formed at the second end of the connecting member are generally equal, and wherein the connecting member is not jointed to the bag body at any position closer to the mounting portion than the jointing points.

2. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 1, wherein the closed portion is formed into an elongate shape extending generally along an up and down direction in such a manner as to partition the terminal inflatable portion from the general inflatable portion.

3. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 2, wherein the connecting member includes a cover portion that covers a generally triangular area of the outboard side of the terminal inflatable portion defined by the mounting portion and the two jointing points.

4. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 3, wherein:

the closed portion is formed into a generally rod that is curved in a generally arcuate fashion such that a central region in an up and down direction of the closed portion protrudes towards the general inflatable portion; and

a part of the terminal inflatable portion is disposed between the upper and lower jointing points.

5. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 4, wherein:

the bag body includes a plurality of jointing points to joint the first end of the connecting member to the closed portion including the upper and lower jointing points; and

at least one of the jointing points is formed into such a curve as to draw an arc of a circle centered at the mounting portion in such a manner as to correspond to the closed portion.

6. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 5, wherein the jointing points are elongated to be continuous with each other and form such an elongate curve as to draw an arc of a circle centered at the mounting portion in such a manner as to correspond to the closed portion.

7. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 1, wherein the lower jointing point is disposed at a position on the lower side of the mounting portion at airbag deployment.

8. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 1, wherein the terminal inflatable portion is disposed at a front end region of the bag body.

9. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 1, wherein:

the bag body further includes at the upper edge an upper edge mounting portion that is adapted to be secured to the vehicle body structure;

the upper edge mounting portion includes a terminal mounting portion disposed at an upper edge of the terminal inflatable portion and a general mounting portion disposed at an upper edge of the general inflatable portion; and

an upward protruding amount of the terminal mounting portion is greater than that of the general mounting portion.

10. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 1, wherein the connecting member includes a cover portion that covers a generally triangular area of the outboard side of the terminal inflatable portion defined by the mounting portion and the two jointing points.

11. The head-protecting airbag device of claim 10, wherein a part of the terminal inflatable portion is disposed between the upper and lower jointing points.