Curtain air bag for vehicles

• US 7,699,342 B2
• Filed: 08/30/2005
• Issued: 04/20/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 08/30/2004
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nihon Plast Company Limited
• Original Assignee: Nihon Plast Company Limited
• Inventors: Goto, Norimasa
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson; Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Coker; Robert A
• Application Number:
  US11/213,718
• Publication Number:
  US 20060071460A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,694 Days
• Field of Search: 280/729, 280/730.2, 280/743.1, 280/749
• 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 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge

Abstract

A curtain air bag formed so that an auxiliary inflatable chamber adapted to reduce to as great an extent as possible a substantial decrease in a protective region of an air bag body 1 can be formed. The air bag body 1 is deployed into the interior of an automobile 8 by introducing a high-pressure gas, which is ejected from an inflator at the time of the occurrence of collision of the automobile 8 with something, into the interior of the air bag body. An auxiliary inflatable chamber 5 defined with respect to a main inflatable chamber 3 is obtained by sewing the air bag body by a substantially one sewing line using a multi-thread chain stitch method or the like. The auxiliary and main inflatable chambers 5, 3 are communicated with each other via a narrow orifice type gas flow restriction passage 6.

Claims

1. A cuff am air bag operative to deploy along an interior surface of a vehicle by an expansion gas from an inflator, the curtain air bag comprising:

a main laminated base cloth, portions thereof being sewn together to form a pouch shape;

a sewing line connecting the portions of the main base cloth, said sewing line forming a substantially one sewing line;

a main inflatable chamber inflatable by the gas;

an auxiliary inflatable chamber formed adjacent to the main inflatable chamber; and

a plurality of partition lines and a seal member providing a partition between the main chamber and the auxiliary chamber said partition lines extending from different locations on said sewing line and defining between terminated distal ends thereof a gas flow restriction passage communicating with the main inflatable chamber and the auxiliary inflatable chamber.

2. A curtain air bag according to claim 1, wherein the auxiliary inflatable chamber is formed ahead of the main inflatable chamber and on a side of a front pillar of the vehicle.

3. A curtain air bag according to claim 1, wherein the sewing line is formed by a multi-thread chain stitch.

4. A curtain air bag according to claim 1, wherein the main inflatable chamber is arranged to cover a side of a head of a crew, seated in a front seat adjusted at a front-most position.

5. A cuff am air bag operative to deploy along an interior surface of a vehicle by an expansion gas from an inflator, the curtain air bag comprising:

a main laminated base cloth, portions thereof being sewn together to form a pouch shape;

a sewing line connecting the portions of the main base cloth, said sewing line forming a substantially one sewing line;

a main inflatable chamber inflatable by the gas;

an auxiliary inflatable chamber formed adjacent to the main inflatable chamber; and

a plurality of partition lines providing a partition between the main chamber and the auxiliary chamber said partition lines extending from different locations on said sewing line and defining between distal ends thereof a gas flow restriction passage communicating with the main inflatable chamber and the auxiliary inflatable chamber,

wherein the gas flow restriction passage is substantially closed by tension due to an inflation of the main inflatable chamber and is forcibly opened when an internal pressure of the main inflatable chamber reaches a predetermined pressure, and the internal pressure of the main inflatable chamber is substantially maintained at the predetermined pressure.