Air bag for vehicle safety device

• US 5,342,087 A
• Filed: 07/29/1993
• Issued: 08/30/1994
• Est. Priority Date: 11/27/1990
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Original Assignee: Mazda Motor Corporation
• Inventors: Oda, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Tyson, Karin L.
• Application Number:
  US08/098,258
• Time in Patent Office: 397 Days
• Field of Search: 280/728 R, 280/730 R, 280/731, 280/732, 280/743 R
• US Class Current: 280/728.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/215 characterised by the covers for the inflatable member B60R21/2176 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded

Abstract

An air bag used in a vehicle air bag safety device is inflated by pressurized gas and expanded, in a lengthwise direction of the air bag, so that an occupant is contacted by the inflated air bag. The air bag is folded first in zigzag fashion into a plurality of lengthwise pleat-folds at opposite side portions of the air bag. The air bag is then folded in zigzag fashion into a plurality of transverse pleat-folds from the rear end of the air bag, remote from the housing, to the front end of the air bag.

Claims

1. A safety air bag device, for installation behind a dash panel of an automotive vehicle, comprising:

a housing having an opening provided behind the dash panel;

a gas generator installed in said housing for generating a pressurized gas when the automotive vehicle undergoes a collision; and

an air bag, including a pair of opposite side portions and a pair of upper and lower surfaces extending between said opposite side portions, installed in said housing and inflatable by the pressurized gas generated by said gas generator to expand through the opening in the housing and into an interior of the automotive vehicle so that a width of said air bag is larger than a width of the opening, said air bag being folded first, in zigzag fashion, into lengthwise pleat-folds extending in a lengthwise direction of said air bag, each of said opposite side portions of said air bag including a plurality of said lengthwise pleat-folds located between said upper and lower surfaces, said lengthwise pleat-folds reducing the width of said air bag so that it is almost equal to a transverse width of the opening when said air bag is deflated and flattened, said air bag then being folded into a plurality of transverse pleat-folds disposed between a rear end of said air bag and a front end of said air bag, each of said transverse pleat-folds extending in a transverse direction, and completely across one of the upper and lower surfaces, of said air bag.

2. A safety air bag device as recited in claim 1, wherein said air bag is expanded toward a front passenger seat of the automotive vehicle.

3. A safety air bag device as recited in claim 1, and further comprising a lid having an outer surface with a profile matching an outer profile of the dash panel and constructed to cover said opening.

4. A safety air bag device as recited in claim 3, wherein said lid comprises upper and lower outer walls and an inner wall having a parting configuration formed by a groove in its outside surface, said groove being V-shaped so as to concentrate stresses and cause said lid to separate into upper and lower flaps when pressure is applied to an inside surface of said inner wall by said air bag.

5. A method of folding an air bag, including a pair of opposite side portions and a pair of upper and lower surfaces extending between said opposite side portions, into a housing having an opening formed in a dash panel of an automotive vehicle, said air bag being inflatable by pressurized gas from a gas generator and expandable through the opening so that a width of the air bag is larger than a width of the opening, said method comprising the steps of:

folding each of said pair of opposite side portions of the air bag, in zigzag fashion, into a plurality of lengthwise pleat-folds located between said upper and lower surfaces so as to reduce the width of the air bag so that it is almost equal to a transverse width of the opening when the air bag is deflated and flattened; and

folding the air bag into a plurality of transverse pleat-folds disposed between a rear end of said air bag and a front end of said air bag so that each of said transverse pleat-folds extends in a transverse direction, and completely across one of the upper and lower surfaces, of said air bag.