Seat cushion airbag device

• US 8,888,126 B2
• Filed: 07/10/2013
• Issued: 11/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 07/12/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kanto, Takanori, Nukaya, Akihiro, Yamada, Hiroaki, Ida, Hitoshi
• Primary Examiner(s): Dickson, Paul N
• Assistant Examiner(s): Freedman, Laura
• Application Number:
  US13/939,098
• Publication Number:
  US 20140015234A1
• Time in Patent Office: 496 Days
• Field of Search: 180/274, 280/730.1, 280/743.1, 280/743.2, 297/216.1
• US Class Current: 280/730.1
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42718 with anti-submarining systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60N 2/42763 with anti-submarining systems
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/231 characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration

Abstract

A seat cushion airbag device mountable to a vehicle seat, includes an airbag includes an inflation portion including an upper fabric portion and a lower fabric portion joined to form a bag shape. The inflation portion is inflated between a support portion and a seat cushion of the vehicle seat by an inflating fluid supplied in response to an impact applied to the vehicle from a front side, such that a seat surface of the seat portion bulges, thereby suppressing a forward movement of an object to be restrained on the seat portion. The airbag further includes a restriction member which extends in a front-rear direction of the vehicle seat within the inflation portion and which bridges the upper fabric portion and the lower fabric portion to restrict an inflated thickness of the inflation portion in the upper-lower direction.

Claims

1. A seat cushion airbag device mountable to a vehicle seat, the vehicle seat comprising a seat portion comprising a seat cushion supported from below by a support portion of a seat frame,

the seat cushion airbag device comprising:

an airbag having a front portion attached to the seat frame and comprising;

an inflation portion comprising an upper fabric portion and a lower fabric portion, which are arranged to overlap with each other in an upper-lower direction and which are joined to each other to form a bag shape, the inflation portion being inflated between the support portion and the seat cushion by an inflating fluid supplied from an inflating fluid generation source in response to an impact applied to a vehicle in which the vehicle seat is mounted from a front side of the vehicle seat, the inflating fluid bulging a seat surface of the seat portion and suppressing a forward movement of an object to be restrained on the seat portion; and

a restriction member extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle seat within the inflation portion, the restriction member bridging the upper fabric portion and the lower fabric portion and restricting an inflated thickness of the inflation portion in the upper-lower direction, the restriction member restricting the inflated thickness in the upper-lower direction from a larger thickness in a front side of the inflation portion to a smaller thickness toward a rear side of the inflation portion, and the upper fabric portion on an upper side of the restriction member being inclined downward from the front side of the inflation portion toward the rear side of the inflation portion.

2. The seat cushion airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the restriction member has a shape in which an upper-lower length thereof becomes short toward the rear side when the restriction member is strained in association with inflation of the inflation portion.

3. The seat cushion airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the object to be restrained is positioned, at least, on a rear portion of the seat portion, and

wherein the restriction member is provided, at least, in a rear portion of the inflation portion.

4. The seat cushion airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the object to be restrained is seated on the seat portion, and

wherein the restriction member is provided in a center portion of the inflation portion in a width direction of the vehicle seat.

5. The seat cushion airbag device according to claim 1,

wherein the object to be restrained is seated on the seat portion, and

wherein the restriction member comprises two members provided at two positions which are separated from each other and which are located on opposite sides of a reference in a width direction of the vehicle seat, where a center portion of the inflation portion in the width direction of the vehicle seat is taken as the reference.

6. A seat cushion airbag device mountable to a vehicle seat, the vehicle seat comprising:

a seat frame having a support portion supporting a seat portion having a seat cushion,

an airbag having a front portion attached to the seat frame, the airbag comprising;

an inflation portion comprising an upper fabric portion and a lower fabric portion, the upper and lower fabric portions overlapping each other in an upper-lower direction and being joined to each other to form a bag shape, the inflation portion being inflated between the seat cushion and the support portion of the seat frame by an inflating fluid supplied from an inflating fluid generation source in response to a frontal vehicle collision received on a front side of the vehicle seat, the inflating fluid bulging a seat surface of the seat portion and inhibiting forward movement of an object to be restrained on the seat portion; and

a restriction member extending in a front-rear direction of the vehicle seat within the inflation portion, the restriction member bridging the upper fabric portion and the lower fabric portion and restricting an inflated thickness of the inflation portion in the upper-lower direction, the restriction member restricting the inflated thickness in the upper-lower direction from a larger thickness in a front side of the inflation portion to a smaller thickness toward a rear side of the inflation portion, and the upper fabric portion on an upper side of the restriction member being inclined downward from the front side of the inflation portion toward the rear side of the inflation portion.