Airbag device for passenger's seats

• US 6,832,779 B2
• Filed: 12/21/2001
• Issued: 12/21/2004
• Est. Priority Date: 12/28/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Okada, Yasushi, Asanuma, Junichi, Hirano, Tatsuo, Tajima, Koh
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): To, Toan C
• Application Number:
  US10/024,367
• Publication Number:
  US 20020084635A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,096 Days
• Field of Search: 280/729, 280/732, 280/740, 280/743.1, 280/742
• US Class Current: 280/743.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23576 Sewing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/231 characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/239 characterised by their venting means

Abstract

A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device comprises an airbag including a passenger'"'"'s side wall portion and a peripheral wall portion. The passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is arranged generally in the vertical direction when the airbag is completely inflated. The peripheral wall portion is formed to converge, when the airbag is completely inflated, generally into a conical shape from the outer peripheral edge of the passenger'"'"'s side wall portion forward of the vehicle. The airbag is so constructed that the gas inlet port for an open face generally in the horizontal direction is arranged in front of the lower side of the peripheral wall portion by mounting the gas inlet port peripheral wall on a case. The airbag is housed in a case by folding it horizontally and vertically after preliminarily folded. In the airbag preliminarily folded, the portion near the upper edge in the passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is arranged at a position to confront the gas inlet port. In the preliminarily folded airbag, moreover, the passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is flatly overlaid on the lower side of the peripheral wall portion.

Claims

1. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device comprising:

an airbag folded up and housed in a case for being extended/inflated and protruded backward of a vehicle while pushing and opening a door arranged in an instrument panel, by introducing an inflating gas thereinto from a gas inlet port,

wherein said airbag comprises, as a shape when completely extended/inflated;

a passenger'"'"'s side wall portion arranged on the passenger'"'"'s side and generally in a vertical direction; and

a peripheral wall portion converging generally into a conical shape from the outer peripheral edge of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion forward of the vehicle,

wherein said gas inlet port is arranged as an open face on a forward portion on the lower side of said peripheral wall portion when said airbag is completely extended/inflated,

wherein said gas inlet port is mounted at its peripheral edge on said case,

wherein said airbag is preliminarily folded to make the conical shape associated with the peripheral wall portion flat, and then vertically and horizontally folded,

wherein in the preliminary folded shape of said airbag, a portion near the upper edge of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is arranged at a position to confront said gas inlet port, and said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is expanded flatly on a part of said peripheral wall portion that becomes a lower side when the airbag is deployed;

wherein when said airbag is preliminarily folded, said peripheral wall portion is folded up such that substantially all the area of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is expanded flatly;

wherein in the preliminarily folded shape of said airbag, the portions of said peripheral wall portion on the left and right sides of said gas inlet port are so folded to form valley creases in the longitudinal direction that the intermediate portion of the flatly extended passenger'"'"'s side wall portion to the left and right edges is brought close to said gas inlet port and arranged at the peripheral edge of said gas inlet port on the side of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion, and

wherein the portion of said peripheral wall portion near the joint to the upper edge of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is folded to form valley creases in the transverse direction.

2. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein in the preliminarily folded shape of said airbag, the portion of said peripheral wall portion on the upper side of said gas inlet port is folded up within the range on the forward portion from the vicinity of the rear edge of said gas inlet port.

3. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the valley creases in said peripheral wall portion near the joint to said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion upper edge and in the transverse direction are arranged on a front side of the rear edge of said gas inlet port.

4. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 3,

wherein the valley creases in said peripheral wall portion near the joint to said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion upper edge and in the transverse direction are arranged on a front side of the front edge of said gas inlet port.

5. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein in the preliminarily folded shape of said airbag, the vicinity of an intermediate portion on the lower side of said peripheral wall portion between said gas inlet port and said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion lower edge is so folded in that the intermediate portion is arranged close to the lower edge side of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion and near the rear end of said peripheral wall portion on the side of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion.

6. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein in the preliminarily folded shape of said airbag, the portion to be arranged at a position to confront said gas inlet port is made of a portion of said peripheral wall portion near the upper edge of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion, and

wherein the upper edge of said passenger'"'"'s side wall portion is arranged on the back side of the rear edge of said gas inlet port.

7. A passenger'"'"'s seat airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein in the preliminarily folded shape of said airbag, said gas inlet port is arranged at a front side of a longitudinal center of said airbag.