Planing boat with airbag system

• US 7,350,802 B2
• Filed: 04/19/2005
• Issued: 04/01/2008
• Est. Priority Date: 04/20/2004
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Suzuki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Original Assignee: Suzuki Kabushiki Kaisha
• Inventors: Shimizu, Takashi, Yatagai, Yasuaki, Kurata, Koji
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N.
• Assistant Examiner(s): MCCREARY, LEONARD
• Application Number:
  US11/108,667
• Publication Number:
  US 20050230937A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,078 Days
• Field of Search: 2807281-7282, 280/730.1, 280/743, 280/748, 280751- 3
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0048 Head
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/0095 Boats
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23107 the bag being integrated in a multi-bag system
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23169 specially adapted for knee protection
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/23 Inflatable members B60R21/18 takes precedence; connection to inflation fluid source retainers B60R21/217

Abstract

A planing boat, particularly of a small size, is provided with an airbag system. The airbag system includes at least one bag-shaped airbag body, a housing which accommodates the airbag body, a detector for detecting a collision of the boat, an expanding unit which inflates the airbag body at the time of collision of the boat, and a controller for controlling the detector and the inflation of the airbag body. In a preferred embodiment, the airbag system includes a first airbag body in the handle cover which is blown up from the handle bar to a rear side of the boat and a second airbag body in the handle cover which is blown up toward a front side of knees of a rider.

Claims

1. A planing boat with an airbag system comprising:

a boat body extending in a longitudinal direction of a planing boat;

an engine mounted in the boat body;

a steering handle bar supported by a steering shaft at an upper portion of the boat body so as to be turned to right and left;

a handle cover which covers the handle bar;

a meter panel disposed in front of the handle bar;

a hood which covers a front half upper surface of the boat body in front of the meter panel;

a frame extending along the longitudinal direction of the boat body at a bottom portion thereof;

a rider driving seat disposed behind the handle bar;

a support frame provided in the vicinity of a distal end portion of the frame so as to extend toward a lower surface of the hood; and

an airbag system including

at least one bag-shaped airbag body,

a housing which accommodates the airbag body,

a detector for detecting a collision of the boat,

an expanding unit which inflates or blows up the airbag body at the time of collision of the boat, and

a controller for controlling the detector and the inflation of the airbag body,

wherein the airbag system including a first airbag body in the handle cover which is blown up from the handle bar to a rear side of the boat, a second airbag body in the handle cover which is blown up toward a front side of knees of a rider, and a third airbag body supported by the support frame and disposed under the hood so as to expand and inflate toward the meter panel by utilizing a portion of the hood covering the upper portion of the meter panel as a guide slope, the first, second and third airbag bodies being activated such that, depending on a degree of the collision, only the airbag body disposed in the handle cover is blown up, all the airbag bodies are blown up at the same time, or the airbag body disposed under the hood is blown up with a time lag relative to the airbag body disposed in the handle cover.

2. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein a timing of blowing up the airbag body disposed under the hood is delayed from a timing of blowing up the airbag body disposed in the handle cover, and the expanded and blown-up area of the airbag body disposed under the hood is set to be wider than that of the airbag body disposed in the handle cover.

3. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag body disposed under the hood is set to be contracted, after the blowing up thereof, at a time later than the contraction of the airbag body disposed in the handle cover, set to be hardly contracted, or set not to be contracted.

4. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag body is colored in a color other than blue and green or coated with a fluorescent paint.

5. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the engine is mounted in the boat body below the rider seat, auxiliary engine machinery including a fuel tank is disposed in front of the engine in the boat body, and the airbag body is disposed in a space above the auxiliary engine machinery.

6. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag body disposed in the handle cover has a size along the width of the boat body, which is set to be larger than the width of the handle bar and smaller than the width of the boat body, and the airbag body disposed under the hood has a size which is set to be larger than the width of the boat body.

7. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the steering shaft is divided axially into divided pieces which are coupled together with a joint, and a whirl-stopping member is disposed so as to stop whirl motion of the steering shaft and the joint.

8. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the engine is a four-stroke-cycle engine.

9. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the frame has an end portion located between the collision detector and the housing disposed under the hood.

10. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag system includes further airbag bodies which are disposed in grips on both ends of the handle bar so as to expand and blow up along the width of the boat body.

11. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag system includes still further airbag bodies which are disposed in broadsides of the boat body so as to expand and blow up upward along the width of the boat body to cover rider'"'"'s feet decks in a side view.

12. The planing boat according to claim 1, wherein the airbag system is switched to be operated “

ON” and

“

OFF”

.