Airbag for head protecting airbag system

• US 6,367,836 B1
• Filed: 08/04/1999
• Issued: 04/09/2002
• Est. Priority Date: 08/05/1998
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Ohno, Mitsuyoshi, Tanase, Toshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Culbreth, Eric
• Assistant Examiner(s): Lum, L.
• Application Number:
  US09/366,674
• Time in Patent Office: 979 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2, 280/749, 280/743.2, 280/743.1
• US Class Current: 280/730.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23316 Inner seams, e.g. creating separate compartments or used as tethering means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23547 one piece weaving
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/213 in vehicle roof frames or pillars
• 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 for a head protecting airbag system is adapted to be folded up and accommodated along an upper interior edge of a vehicle and to be developed and inflated to cover an interior opening of the vehicle. The airbag comprises a flexible airbag body and a flexible belt portion. The airbag body includes an inflatable portion adapted to be inflated to cover the interior opening when the airbag is inflated. The inflatable portion includes a longitudinal rod portion adapted to be inflated substantially vertically into a column shape. The longitudinal rod portion is arranged on one end side of the front end side or the rear end side of the inflatable portion. The belt portion is joined at its proximal portion to the peripheral edge of the longitudinal rod portion and is fixed at its distal end portion on the vehicle. When the airbag body is inflated, the lower end side of the longitudinal rod portion may be turned on the upper end side of the longitudinal rod portion in the forward or backward direction away from the inflatable portion. Thus, a high tension is established on the lower edge of the airbag body.

Claims

1. An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising:

an airbag body having an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle, said airbag body including a longitudinally extending portion inflatable into a substantially vertically oriented column, said longitudinally extending portion being arranged at one end of said inflatable portion; and

a flexible belt connected at a first end thereof to a peripheral edge of said longitudinally extending portion and connected at a second end thereof to the vehicle so that, upon inflation of said inflatable portion, said flexible belt guides said longitudinally extending portion to generally pivot about an end thereof into a substantially vertical orientation, wherein a distance between the first and second ends of the flexible belt, when the flexible belt is extended straight and when the airbag is unfolded and uninflated, is shorter than a distance between the first and second ends when the airbag is folded and uninflated.

2. The airbag of claim 1, wherein the flexible belt is trifurcated so as to have three end portions, and wherein two end portions are joined to the upper and lower end portions of the longitudinally extending portion and the remaining end portion is fixed on the vehicle.

3. The airbag of claim 1, wherein the flexible belt is a single band joined at its first end to a peripheral edge portion of a lower end portion of the longitudinally extending portion and fixed at its second end on the vehicle, the flexible belt passing through an insert hole defined in the peripheral edge portion, the insert hole being spaced from the first end of the flexible belt.

4. The airbag of claim 1, wherein the airbag body is inflated to cover an interior side of a center pillar portion of the vehicle.

8. The airbag of claim 1, wherein the flexible belt is not inflatable.

5. An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising:

an airbag body having an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle, said airbag body including a longitudinally extending portion inflatable into a substantially vertically oriented column, said longitudinally extending portion being arranged at one end of said inflatable portion; and

a flexible belt connected at a first end thereof to a peripheral edge of said longitudinally extending portion and connected at a second end thereof to the vehicle so that, upon inflation of said inflatable portion, said flexible belt guides said longitudinally extending portion to generally pivot about an end thereof into a substantially vertical orientation, wherein the flexible belt has a length when extended straight between the first and second ends thereof that is shorter than a distance between the first end and the second end when the second end is fixed on the vehicle and the airbag is mounted to the vehicle but uninflated;

wherein the flexible belt is joined at its first end to an uninflating portion of a circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion, said circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion being a cover portion, the cover portion is a triangular area from the circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion to the second end of the flexible belt, the second end of the flexible belt being movable in an axial direction of the second end.

6. The airbag of claim 5, wherein the flexible belt is on an exterior face of the cover portion.

7. The airbag of claim 5, wherein the cover portion is formed integrally with the uninflating portion.

9. An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising:

an airbag body having an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle, said airbag body including a longitudinally extending portion inflatable into a substantially vertically oriented column, said longitudinally extending portion being arranged at one end of said inflatable portion; and

a flexible belt connected at a first end thereof to a peripheral edge of said longitudinally extending portion and connected at a second end thereof to the vehicle so that, upon inflation of said inflatable portion, said flexible belt guides said longitudinally extending portion to generally pivot about an end thereof into a substantially vertical orientation, wherein the flexible belt is joined at its first end to a peripheral edge portion of the longitudinally extending portion and fixed at its second end to the vehicle, the flexible belt passing through an insert hole defined in the peripheral edge portion, the insert hole being spaced from the first end of the flexible belt.

10. The airbag of claim 9, wherein the flexible belt is not inflatable.

11. The airbag of claim 9, wherein the airbag body is inflated to cover an interior side of a center pillar portion of the vehicle.

12. An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising an airbag body having:

an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle;

a first gas inlet for receiving inflation gas;

a main chamber extending from said first gas inlet along a substantially straight path and substantially horizontal direction and substantially the total length of the inflatable portion; and

upper and lower auxiliary chambers located on opposite sides of and in communication with said main chamber and extending parallel to and vertically overlapping the main chamber and spaced from said first gas inlet, wherein each of the upper and lower auxiliary chambers are communicated to the main chamber at only one end thereof.

13. The airbag of claim 12, further comprising:

an uninflating portion arranged on an end of the main chamber, spaced from the first gas inlet, and extending over the upper and lower auxiliary chambers,

wherein the upper and lower auxiliary chambers have second and third gas inlets respectively, arranged at the end of the main chamber, spaced from the first gas inlet.

14. The airbag of claim 12, wherein the third gas inlet of the lower auxiliary chamber has a larger opening area than that of the second gas inlet of the upper auxiliary chamber.

15. The airbag of claim 12, wherein the airbag is formed by a hollow-woven material including warps and wefts,

wherein the main chamber is arranged substantially in parallel with the at least one of the warps and the wefts, and

wherein the airbag is folded on folds along the main chamber.

16. The airbag of claim 15, wherein approximately 50% to 100% of a total length of an upper edge and a lower edge of the main chamber is formed in parallel with the at least one of the warps and the wefts.

17. The airbag of claim 15, further comprising:

an inflator inserted into the first gas inlet for feeding the inflation gas,

a nonparallel portion, not in parallel with the at least one of the warps and the wefts, is formed on at least one of the upper edge and the lower edge of the main chamber, and

the nonparallel portion is formed spaced from the first gas inlet, in which the inflator is inserted.

18. An airbag for a head-protecting airbag system of a vehicle having an interior compartment constructed and arranged to accommodate at least one of a vehicle operator and at least one passenger, said airbag being receivable in the vehicle along an upper interior edge thereof which defines a portion of the interior compartment, said airbag comprising:

an airbag body having an inflatable portion which, upon inflation, enters the interior compartment and covers the upper interior edge of the vehicle, said airbag body including a longitudinally extending portion inflatable into a substantially vertically oriented column, said longitudinally extending portion being arranged at one end of said inflatable portion; and

a flexible belt connected at a first end thereof to a peripheral edge of said longitudinally extending portion and connected at a second end thereof to the vehicle so that, upon inflation of said inflatable portion, said flexible belt guides said longitudinally extending portion to generally pivot about an end thereof into a substantially vertical orientation, wherein the flexible belt is joined at its first end to a circumferential edge of an upper end portion of the longitudinally extending portion and fixed at its second end to the vehicle through an insert hole defined in a peripheral edge of an opening of the vehicle;

wherein the flexible belt is joined at its first end to an uninflating portion of a circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion, said circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion being a cover portion, the cover portion is a triangular area from the circumferential edge of the longitudinally extending portion to the second end of the flexible belt, the second end of the flexible belt being movable in an axial direction of the second end.