Knee protecting airbag device

• US 6,945,557 B2
• Filed: 11/05/2002
• Issued: 09/20/2005
• Est. Priority Date: 11/09/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kazumasa, Takimoto, Masahiro, Nagata, Atsushi, Koyama, Toru, Mizuno, Yoshio
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming, Faye M.
• Application Number:
  US10/287,762
• Publication Number:
  US 20030120409A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,050 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.1, 280/743.1, 280/743.2, 280/752, 296/70, 297/487
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0051 Knees
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/161 characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23169 specially adapted for knee protection
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23382 Internal tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23547 one piece weaving
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23595 Sealing
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/206 in the lower part of dashboards, e.g. for protecting the knees
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2165 characterised by a tear line for defining a deployment opening
• 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 21/2338 Tethers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2342 Tear seams
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/261 with means other than bag structure to diffuse or guide inflation fluid

Abstract

In a knee protecting airbag device of the present invention, an airbag is folded and housed on the front side of the knees of a seated passenger. The airbag is protruded rearward of a vehicle from a protruding opening and expanded and inflated upward, when an inflating gas flows in. And, the airbag is arranged on the front side of the knees of the passenger between a member on the body side and the knees of the passenger thereby to protect the knees of the passenger. The protruding opening has a transverse width size set within a range of ⅛ to ⅔ of the transverse width size of the airbag having completed its expansion and inflation.

Claims

1. A knee protecting airbag device comprising:

a folded airbag; and

a case that is fixed on a vehicular body in front of the knees of a seated passenger, wherein;

the case has a generally rectangular-box shape,

an opening is formed on the rear side of the case,

the airbag is folded such that an upper edge of the airbag is in proximity to a lower edge of the airbag,

said airbag is protruded rearward from said opening and is expanded and inflated upward, when an inflating gas flows in, so that the airbag can be arranged on the front side of the knees of the passenger between a member on the vehicular body and the passenger to protect the knees of said passenger,

said airbag is constructed into a flat airbag which is formed by joining the outer peripheral edges of a passenger-side wall portion and a body-side wall portion to each other,

said passenger-side wall portion is arranged to face the passenger at the time of inflation completion,

said body-side wall portion is arranged on a side of the airbag that faces the vehicular body when the airbag is inflated,

said body-side wall portion has a flat shape that is substantially identical to that of said passenger-side wall portion,

said airbag is connected to the front side of the case at the body-side wall portion such that a portion of said body-side wall portion is pulled in the forward direction of the vehicle when the airbag is fully inflated, and

in a fully inflated state of the airbag, the length of the passenger-side wall portion as measured in a vertical plane from the opening to the upper edge of the airbag is greater than the length of the body-side wall portion as measured in a vertical plane between the opening and the upper edge of the airbag.

2. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the folding of said airbag to bring the upper edge of the airbag in proximity to the lower edge of the airbag is done by rolling said airbag on the side of said body side wall portion.

3. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein there is arranged near the lower edge of said airbag a supporting expansion portion that protrudes in a rearward direction from the opening at the time when said airbag is protruded in a rearward direction from said case, and

wherein said supporting expansion portion is supported in abutment against the rear face of a member on the vehicular body side at the lower edge side peripheral edge of said opening.

4. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein said airbag includes thickness regulating tethers for connecting said passenger side wall portion and said body side wall portion to each other.

5. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 4,

wherein said tethers are arranged at positions apart from said case in said airbag and at positions near an upper peripheral edge of the opening at the time when said airbag inflated and protrudes in a rearward direction from said case that they are connected generally horizontally to said passenger side wall portion and said body side wall portion.