Airbag system for front passenger's seat

• US 6,170,857 B1
• Filed: 11/10/1998
• Issued: 01/09/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 03/27/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kazumasa, Ogawa, Hiroshi, Kuriyama, Yuji, Okada, Yasushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Mai, Lanna
• Application Number:
  US09/188,573
• Time in Patent Office: 791 Days
• Field of Search: 280/743.1, 280/728.1, 280/740, 280/729, 280/732, 493/405, 493/430, 493/433, 493/940
• US Class Current: 280/728.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2171 specially adapted for elongated cylindrical or bottle-like inflators with a symmetry axis perpendicular to the main direction of bag deployment, e.g. extruded reaction canisters B60R21/2176 takes 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 21/2346 Soft diffusers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded

Abstract

An airbag system for a front passenger'"'"'s seat of the top-mount type according to the invention is arranged in an instrument panel below a windshield. The front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system is constructed to include a door, a case and an airbag. The door is arranged on the upper face of the instrument panel. The case houses and holds the airbag in a folded state. The airbag, as housed in the case, is expanded by injecting an inflating gas into a gas inlet port so that the airbag protrudes to open the door and inflate towards the rear side of a vehicle along the windshield. The airbag is equipped with a commutator cloth arranged to cover the gas inlet port. This commutator cloth is arranged to close the two sides in the transverse direction of the vehicle and to open the two sides in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle. This front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system reduces the expansion rate of the airbag towards the rear of the vehicle.

Claims

1. A front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system arranged in an instrument panel that is mountable in a vehicle, comprising:

a door arranged on an upper face of the instrument panel;

a case; and

an airbag housed and held in a folded state in said case and comprising;

a gas inlet port for receiving an inflating gas injected thereinto so that introduction of an inflating gas through said gas inlet port causes said airbag to expand towards the rear of the vehicle while opening said door; and

a ceiling wall portion confronting said gas inlet port, said ceiling wall portion having front, rear, left, and right edges,

wherein said airbag is housed in said case by arranging said ceiling wall portion of said airbag to closely approach said gas inlet port, subsequently by transversely folding said front and rear edges perpendicular to the transverse direction to closely approach the vicinity of the center of said ceiling wall portion so that said rear edge is internally rolled toward said gas inlet port, and further by then longitudinally folding said left and right edges to closely approach the vicinity of the center of said ceiling wall portion.

2. A front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system according to claim 1, wherein said transverse folding of said front edge is performed to fold a portion of said airbag on the front side of the vehicle into a bellows-like shape.

4. A front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system according to claim 2, wherein said transverse folding of said front edge is performed to fold a portion of said airbag on the front side of the vehicle into a bellows-like shape.

3. A front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system arranged in an instrument panel that is mountable in a vehicle, comprising:

a door arranged on an upper face of the instrument panel;

a case; and

an airbag housed and held in a folded state in said case and comprising;

a gas inlet port for receiving an inflating gas injected thereinto so that introduction of an inflating gas through said gas inlet port causes said airbag to expand towards the rear of the vehicle while opening said door;

a ceiling wall portion confronting said gas inlet port, said ceiling wall portion having front, rear, left, and right edges, and

a commutator cloth covering said gas inlet port,

wherein said airbag is housed in said case by arranging said ceiling wall portion of said airbag to closely approach said gas inlet port, subsequently by transversely folding said front and rear edges perpendicular to the transverse direction to closely approach the vicinity of the center of said ceiling wall portion so that said rear edge is internally rolled toward said gas inlet port, and further by then longitudinally folding said left and right edges to closely approach the vicinity of the center of said ceiling wall portion, and

wherein said commutator cloth is arranged to close the two sides of said gas inlet port relative to the transverse direction of the vehicle and to leave a front side opening and rear side opening of said gas inlet port relative to the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.

5. A front passenger'"'"'s seat airbag system according to claim 3, wherein;

an area ratio of the front side opening to the rear side opening increases as said airbag protrudes through said door and approaches a vertical direction;

the area of the front side opening is made more approximate to the area of the rear side opening as said airbag protrudes through said door and approaches a horizontal direction; and

the area of the front side opening is made equivalent to the area of the rear side opening when the said airbag expands in a horizontal direction.