Airbag apparatus

• US 7,909,357 B2
• Filed: 03/17/2009
• Issued: 03/22/2011
• Est. Priority Date: 03/21/2008
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Yamanaka, Makoto, Iida, Takashi
• Primary Examiner(s): Ilan; Ruth
• Assistant Examiner(s): ENGLISH, JAMES A
• Application Number:
  US12/382,443
• Publication Number:
  US 20090236832A1
• Time in Patent Office: 735 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.1, 280/730.2, 280/743.1, 280/743.2
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23153 specially adapted for rear seat passengers
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23316 Inner seams, e.g. creating separate compartments or used as tethering means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/213 in vehicle roof frames or pillars
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
• 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

Abstract

An airbag 33 has a plurality of vertical inflatable cells 37 to 40 each serving as an inflatable portion and non-inflatable portions 41, 45, each of which is arranged between a corresponding adjacent pair of the vertical inflatable cells 37 to 40 and formed by a fabric sheet 34B. The vertical inflatable cells 37 to 40 are deployed and inflated by inflation gas at positions beside corresponding headrests 14L, 14R of the rearmost seat. In contrast, the non-inflatable portions 41, 45 deploy behind the headrests 14L, 14R without inflating. The vertical inflatable cells 37 to 40 include vertical inflatable cells 38, 39 located at the center of the direction of the width of the vehicle and side vertical inflatable cells 37, 40 arranged at both sides of the direction of the width of the vehicle. A slit 43 and a slit 47, each serving as a displacement permitting portion that permits outward displacement of the corresponding side vertical inflatable cell 37, 40 in the direction of the width of the vehicle, are defined in the non-inflatable portion 41 and the non-inflatable portion 45, respectively. The slits 43, 47 each extend from a distal edge 42, 46 of the corresponding non-inflatable portion 41, 45 toward a proximal portion 33A of the airbag 33.

Claims

1. An airbag apparatus for use in a vehicle, the apparatus comprising:

an inflation fluid generator accommodated in an accommodation portion formed in a space over a ceiling of a passenger compartment of the vehicle, the inflation fluid generator jetting out inflation fluid in response to an impact on the vehicle from behind; and

an airbag that is accommodated in the accommodation portion in a folded state and has a proximal portion fixed to the vehicle, wherein the airbag is connected to the inflation fluid generator and, by receiving at the proximal portion the inflation fluid supplied from the inflation fluid generator in response to the impact on the vehicle from behind, shoots out of the accommodation portion toward a rear portion of the passenger compartment and in a diagonally downward direction, and deploys and inflates behind a rearmost seat with the proximal portion maintained in the accommodation portion,

wherein a plurality of inflatable portions and a plurality of non-inflatable portions are defined in the airbag, wherein the inflatable portions are deployed and inflated by the inflation fluid in the vicinity of a lateral side of a headrest of the rearmost seat, and each non-inflatable portion is made of a fabric sheet, arranged between an adjacent pair of the inflatable portions, and deployed behind the headrest without being inflated by the inflation fluid,

wherein the inflatable portions include a pair of side inflatable portions arranged at both outer sides in a direction of the width of the vehicle, and wherein each non-inflatable portion is provided with a displacement permitting portion permitting outward displacement of the corresponding one of the side inflatable portions in the direction of the width of the vehicle,

wherein the inflatable portions include an intermediate inflatable portion arranged adjacent to and inward from the side inflatable portions in the direction of the width of the vehicle

wherein each non-inflatable portion and the associated displacement permitting portion include a non-inflatable outer piece and a non-inflatable inner piece, wherein the non-inflatable outer piece is provided in the corresponding side inflatable portion while being separated from the intermediate inflatable portion, and the non-inflatable inner piece is formed in the intermediate inflatable portion while being separated from the side inflatable portion and located close to or held in contact with the outer piece,

wherein each outer piece includes a lateral peripheral portion arranged close to the inner piece, each inner piece having a lateral peripheral portion located close to the outer piece, and wherein a plurality of engagement portions are provided in the lateral peripheral portion of the outer piece and the lateral peripheral portion of the inner piece, the engagement portions being used to position the outer piece and the inner piece when the airbag in the spread state is folded,

wherein each inner piece and the corresponding outer piece each include a portion overlapping each other in the direction of the width of the vehicle, and

wherein the engagement portions are a plurality of engagement holes, the engagement holes being formed both in the portion of the outer piece overlapping the inner piece and the portion of the inner piece overlapping the outer piece, the positions of the engagement holes of the outer piece coinciding with the positions of the engagement holes of the inner piece, the engagement holes of the outer piece and the engagement holes of the inner piece functioning as a plurality of common engagement holes.

2. The airbag apparatus according to claim 1,

wherein the airbag in a spread state is folded by:

mounting the airbag in the spread state on a table having one or more engaging portions;

positioning the airbag in the spread state by engaging the engaging portions of the table with the engagement holes of the airbag; and

folding the airbag in a volute shape from the distal edge of each non-inflatable portion toward the proximal portion of the non-inflatable portion using an elongated folding assist tool as a core, the non-inflatable portion being engaged with the engagement holes until immediately before the airbag is folded back.

3. The apparatus according to claim 2,

wherein the engaging portions are formed by a plurality of pins that are aligned in a line and project from the table, the engagement holes permitting the pins to be selectively inserted through and disengaged from the corresponding engagement holes, and wherein the positioning of the airbag is carried out by passing the pins through the corresponding engagement holes.