Side air bag device

• US 5,810,389 A
• Filed: 05/01/1997
• Issued: 09/22/1998
• Est. Priority Date: 08/02/1995
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Takashimaya Nippatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Takashimaya Nippatsu Kogyo Co., Ltd. (Toyota Motor Corporation), TOYO Tire & Rubber Company Limited
• Inventors: Nakagawa, Yoshihisa, Ozaki, Toru, Yamamoto, Junji, Yamaji, Takeshi, Shinoda, Shoei
• Primary Examiner(s): Ellis, Christopher P.
• Application Number:
  US08/809,516
• Time in Patent Office: 509 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2, 280/728.3, 280/730.1, 280/728.1, 280/728.2
• US Class Current: 280/730.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0006 Lateral collision
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/207 in vehicle seats

Abstract

The invention relates to a side air bag device embedded in a seat side which splits open a stitching part 26 of a seat covering material 20 by means of deployment pressure of an air bag 14 and deploys the air bag 14. In this device, a band 28 for concentrating deployment pressure of the air bag 14 on deployment of the air bag 14 is disposed, and a start to the stitching part 26 splitting open is made by means of this band 28. As a result, the stitching part 26 can be split open rapidly. Also, in the device, a seat pad 72 was interposed between an air bag case 16 and the seat covering material 20. As a result, the softness and feeling of the seat feel is not lost.

Claims

1. A side air bag device which is an air bag device embedded in a compartment wall side of a seat of a vehicle wherein a seat covering material has in the vicinity of an air bag case opening a stitching part where a case side covering material covering the opening and an occupant side covering material are stitched together by said stitching part and this stitching part is to be split open by means of a predetermined deployment pressure of an air bag,

said side air bag device characterized in that a seat pad of a predetermined thickness is interposed between the air bag case and the seat covering material and a slit part or a weak part for allowing the air bag to pass through on deployment is formed in the pad on the inner side of the stitching part,

and also a band for suppressing elongation of the occupant side covering material on deployment of the air bag is provided extending between the occupant side covering material at the stitching part and a fixed member such as a seat frame, one end of the band is fixed to the fixed member and the other end of the band is co-stitched to the occupant side covering material by means of stitching thread of the stitching part.

2. A side air bag device according to claim 1, characterized in that the shape of the slit part or the weak part forms a straight line shape or a bracket-like shape.

3. A side air bag device according to claim 2, characterized in that an end of the slit part or the weak part is terminated into a circular shape, a T-shape, an L-shape or a U-shape.

4. A side air bag device according to claim 1, characterized in that the thickness of a part of the seat pad adjacent to the slit part or the weak part is made thin in the vicinity of the center of and thick at an end of the slit part or the weak part.

5. A side air bag device according to claim 1, characterized in that a part of said seat pad in a side of the seat in which the slit part or the weak part is formed is made harder than a part of said seat pad of another part of the seat and is formed integrally with the part of said seat pad of the other part of the seat.

6. A side air bag device according to claim 1, characterized in that a skin layer of thickness 30 to 200 μ

m is formed at the surface of the pad in the vicinity of the slit part or the weak part.