Knee protecting airbag device

• US 7,744,118 B2
• Filed: 09/18/2008
• Issued: 06/29/2010
• Est. Priority Date: 05/21/2001
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Suzuki, Kazumasa, Mizuno, Yoshio, Takimoto, Masahiro, Nagata, Atsushi, Koyama, Toru
• Primary Examiner(s): Fleming; Faye M.
• Application Number:
  US12/232,472
• Publication Number:
  US 20090184498A1
• Time in Patent Office: 649 Days
• Field of Search: 280/743.1, 280/730.1, 280/751, 280/752, 280/743.2
• 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 an airbag folded and housed in a case on the front side of the knees of a seated passenger, wherein

the airbag includes a passenger side wall, a body side wall and tethers,

the airbag protects the knees of a passenger when protruded rearwardly from a case and expanded and inflated upwardly, as a result of an inflating gas flowing into the airbag,

the tethers maintain the airbag in a generally planar shape by connecting the passenger side wall to the body side wall at a time of inflation,

the tethers are located outside of the case when the airbag is completely inflated, and

the tethers are arranged generally horizontally in the airbag when the airbag is inflated;

each tether is made of flexible material and is band shaped;

each tether is sewn to the passenger side wall portion and the body side wall portion at its ends; and

each tether is arranged generally horizontally along the front-rear direction.

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

the body side wall has a flat shape that is substantially identical to that of the passenger side wall, and

the airbag is constructed as a generally planar airbag by joining the outer peripheral edges of a passenger side wall and a body side wall to each other.

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

near a lower edge of the airbag is 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

the supporting expansion portion is supported in abutment against a rear face of a member of the vehicle body at a lower part of a periphery of the opening of the case.

4. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 1, wherein an axis of the case is generally horizontal.

5. A knee protecting airbag device according to claim 1, wherein

the airbag is provided on its upper side, when completely inflated, with a wide protecting area portion capable of protecting the left and right knees of said passenger,

the lower side of said protecting area portion is tapered to converge downward to the vicinity of the lower edge of the airbag.