Occupant restraint apparatus

• US 7,347,446 B2
• Filed: 09/22/2005
• Issued: 03/25/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 09/29/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Inoue, Michio, Tanase, Toshinori
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coker; Robert A.
• Application Number:
  US11/231,752
• Publication Number:
  US 20060066079A1
• Time in Patent Office: 915 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2, 280/743.2, 280/730.1
• US Class Current: 280/730.2
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/161 characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/213 in vehicle roof frames or pillars
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/215 characterised by the covers for the inflatable member B60R21/2176 takes precedence
• 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
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 22/195 with means to tension the belt in an emergency, e.g. means of the through-anchor or splitted reel typeelectrical circuits for triggering safety arrangements B60R21/01

Abstract

An occupant restraint apparatus includes a head protecting airbag which is housed on an upper part of windows. In the airbag, a front end portion of a lower edge thereof is connected to a pretensioner situated in the vicinity of a lower portion of a pillar portion, via a connecting material, and a rear end portion on the lower edge is connected to a guide block, which engages with a guide rail of a pillar portion, via a connecting material. When the airbag is deployed, a tension is generated in the lower edge of the airbag between the connecting materials by moving the block downward and by hauling by the pretensioner.

Claims

1. An occupant restraint apparatus installed on a vehicle having a window defined between first and second pillar portions, comprising:

an airbag provided with a plurality of cells and folded to be housed on an upper part of the window, said airbag being inflatable downward to cover an interior side of the window by introducing an inflating gas thereinto;

a guide rail extending along the first pillar portion;

a guide block engaged with the guide rail to be guided downward;

a stopper mechanism by which the guide block is engaged with the guide rail so as to allow a downward movement of the guide block and to restrict an upward movement thereof; and

a hauling device provided in a vicinity of a peripheral part of the window so as to be connected to a flexible end portion connecting material which is extended from the airbag;

wherein a portion on a lower edge of the airbag, which is disposed in a vicinity of the first pillar portion when the airbag is deployed, is connected to the guide block through a block connecting material,

an end portion in the lower edge of the airbag, which is disposed in a vicinity of a lower portion of the second pillar portion when the airbag is deployed, is connected to the end portion connecting material;

wherein, the guide block is moved downward so that the block connecting material moves downward and the hauling device is activated to haul the end portion connecting material, when the airbag is deployed,

whereby a tension is generated along a longitudinal direction in the lower edge of the airbag between connection portions connected to the block connecting material and the end portion connecting material, respectively when the airbag has been fully inflated; and

wherein the guide rail is located within the first pillar portion, and the block connecting material, which connects the guide block and one of the connection portions of the airbag, includes two wires that protrude from front and rear sides of the guide block when the bag deploys.

2. An occupant restraint apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the hauling device is configured such that a hauling port of the hauling device through which the end portion connecting material is hauled to be taken into the hauling device is located below the lower part of the window, and

the connection portion of the airbag at which the block connecting material, is connected is located below the lower part of the window when the airbag has been fully inflated.

3. An occupant restraint apparatus installed on a vehicle having a window defined by at least one pillar portion, comprising:

an airbag provided with a plurality of cells juxtaposed in a longitudinal direction of the airbag and folded to be housed on an upper part of the window, said airbag being inflatable downward to cover an interior side of the window by introducing an inflating gas thereinto so that the cells are inflated by narrowing in the longitudinal direction, wherein a stationary end portion of a lower edge of the airbag is attached to a vicinity of an end portion on a lower part of the window, and a movable end portion of the lower edge of the airbag is provided on the pillar portion on the peripheral part of the window; and

a hauling device including;

a screw rod and a guide rod extending around an area defined from a vicinity of an upper part of the window to a vicinity of a lower part of the window such that axial directions thereof become substantially in parallel with each other,

a movable piece having a threaded hole, by which the movable piece is threaded on the screw rod, and a guide hole through which the guide rod is passed and connected to the movable end portion of the airbag, and

a drive source for rotationally driving the screw rod,

whereby when the screw rod is rotationally driven, the movable end portion of the airbag which is housed on the upper part of the window is lowered together with the movable piece so as to generate a tension which is exerted on the lower edge of the airbag between the stationary end and movable end portions along a longitudinal direction of the airbag, when an internal pressure of the airbag is reduced.

4. An occupant restraint apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the stationary end portion of the airbag is disposed further downward than the lower part of the window, and

the movable piece of the hauling device is provided so as to move the movable end portion of the airbag to a position which is situated further downward than the lower part of the window.