Head-protecting airbag device and method of folding airbag thereof

• US 9,487,178 B2
• Filed: 12/02/2013
• Issued: 11/08/2016
• Est. Priority Date: 02/28/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Company Limited (Toyota Motor Corporation), Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Kawamura, Koji, Suemitsu, Taizo, Kashio, Atsushi, Hamada, Mitsuhiro
• Primary Examiner(s): FRISBY, KEITH J
• Application Number:
  US14/759,984
• Publication Number:
  US 20150336531A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,072 Days
• Field of Search: 280/730.2
• US Class Current: 1/1
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/232 Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/237 characterised by the way they are folded

Abstract

A head-protecting airbag device includes an airbag that is inflatable in such a manner as to separate an inboard side wall and an outboard side wall while unfolding downward from a housing. The airbag includes a front inflatable shielding region that covers an inboard side of a window and includes a sub inflatable region that is inflatable later than the main inflatable region. The sub inflatable region includes a supportive inflatable region that is supported by a vehicle body member which is disposed below a beltline. The airbag is stored in the housing such that a front lower corner of the sub inflatable region is folded inward on a crease extending obliquely rearward and downward from the front edge to the lower edge of the airbag before the airbag is subjected to a vertical size reducing folding that brings the lower edge as unfolded flatly close to the upper edge.

Claims

1. A head-protecting airbag device comprising a housing adapted to be mounted on an upper periphery of a window disposed at a side of a front seat of a vehicle and an airbag that is stored in the housing in such a configuration that is folded up through a vertical size reducing folding that brings a lower edge of the airbag as unfolded flatly close to an upper edge of the airbag,

the airbag comprising a front inflatable shielding region that is inflatable with an inflation gas fed from an inflator in such a manner as to separate an inboard side wall and an outboard side wall while unfolding downward from the housing for covering an inboard side of the window,

the front inflatable shielding region comprising a main inflatable region and a sub inflatable region that is disposed in front of the main inflatable region and is in communication with the main inflatable region and completes inflation after the main inflatable region has completed inflation,

the sub inflatable region comprising at a lower end thereof as fully inflated a supportive inflatable region that is deployable at and supported by an inboard side of a vehicle body member of the vehicle which is disposed below a beltline of the window at full inflation of the airbag,

wherein:

prior to the vertical size reducing folding, the airbag has been subjected to an inward folding that folds a front lower corner of the sub inflatable region as unfolded flatly on a crease extending obliquely rearward and downward from a front edge to the lower edge of the airbag and locates the front lower corner of the sub inflatable region at a position on an inboard side of the inboard side wall deployable above the beltline.

2. The head-protecting airbag device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the vertical size reducing folding is mainly composed of an outward rolling that rolls a region of the airbag in a vicinity of the lower edge towards the outboard side wall.

3. The head-protecting airbag device as set forth in claim 2 wherein, prior to the outward rolling in the vertical size reducing folding, a lower peripheral region of the airbag having been subjected to the inward folding is folded towards the outboard side wall on a crease extending in a front and rear direction.

4. The head-protecting airbag device as set forth in claim 2 wherein:

the airbag further comprises a rear inflatable shielding region that is disposed at the rear of the front inflatable shielding region and a communication passage that is disposed in the upper edge at a vicinity of a center in a front and rear direction of the airbag as fully inflated and provides communication between the front inflatable shielding region and the rear inflatable shielding region; and

an upper half area in an up and down direction of the communication passage is folded up in a bellows fashion on creases extending in a front and rear direction.

5. The head-protecting airbag device as set forth in claim 1 wherein:

the airbag further comprises at the upper edge thereof a plurality of mounting portions adapted to be mounted on a vehicle body member disposed at the upper periphery of the window;

a foremost mounting portion out of the mounting portions is located at the front edge of the airbag; and

the crease of the inward folding is formed into such a straight line that an upper end thereof is located in a vicinity of immediately below the foremost mounting portion while a lower end thereof is located at the rear of a rear lower corner of a lower end of the sub inflatable region, thus extends from immediately below the foremost mounting portion and passes through the rear lower corner of the lower end of the sub inflatable region.

6. The head-protecting airbag device as set forth in claim 1 wherein the crease of the inward folding is so formed as to extend obliquely rearward and downward from the front edge to the lower edge of the airbag at an inclination angle of 45°

.

7. A method of folding an airbag for use in a head-protecting airbag device having a housing adapted to be mounted on upper peripheries of windows at a side of a front seat and a rear seat of a vehicle, in order to store the airbag in the housing, the airbag comprising:

a front inflatable shielding region and a rear inflatable shielding region that are inflatable with an inflation gas fed from an inflator in such a manner as to separate an inboard side wall and an outboard side wall while unfolding downward from the housing for covering an inboard side of the windows at a side of the front seat and rear seat, the front inflatable shielding region including a main inflatable region and a sub inflatable region that is disposed in front of the main inflatable region and is in communication with the main inflatable region and completes inflation after the main inflatable region has completed inflation, the sub inflatable region including at a lower end thereof as fully inflated a supportive inflatable region that is deployable at and supported by an inboard side of a vehicle body member which is disposed below a beltline of the window at full inflation of the airbag; and

a communication passage that is disposed in an upper edge at a vicinity of a center in a front and rear direction of the airbag as fully inflated and provides communication between the front inflatable shielding region and the rear inflatable shielding region, the method of folding comprises;

a vertical size reducing folding step that brings a lower edge of the airbag as unfolded flatly close to the upper edge of the airbag; and

an inward folding step that is conducted prior to the vertical size reducing folding step and folds a front lower corner of the sub inflatable region as unfolded flatly on a crease extending obliquely rearward and downward from a front edge to the lower edge of the airbag and locates the front lower corner of the sub inflatable region at a position on an inboard side of the inboard side wall deployable above the beltline.

8. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 7 wherein the vertical size reducing folding step is mainly composed of an outward rolling step that rolls a region of the airbag in a vicinity of the lower edge towards the outboard side wall.

9. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 8 wherein the outward rolling step is applied to an area of the airbag from the lower edge to a vicinity of a center of a width in an up and down direction of the communication passage.

10. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 8 wherein the vertical size reducing folding step further comprises prior to the outward rolling a lower-periphery outward folding step that folds a lower peripheral region of the airbag having been subjected to the inward folding towards the outboard side wall on a crease extending in a front and rear direction.

11. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 7 wherein the vertical size reducing folding step further comprises a bellows-folding step that folds up an upper half area of the communication passage in a bellows fashion on creases extending in a front and rear direction.

12. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 7, wherein:

the vertical size reducing folding step further comprises a bellows-folding step that folds up an upper half area of the communication passage in a bellows fashion on creases extending in a front and rear direction; and

the vertical size reducing folding step is mainly composed of an outward rolling step that rolls a region of the airbag in a vicinity of the lower edge towards the outboard side wall.

13. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 12, wherein the outward rolling step is applied to an area of the airbag from the lower edge to a vicinity of a center of a width in an up and down direction of the communication passage.

14. The method of folding an airbag as set forth in claim 12, wherein the vertical size reducing folding step further comprises prior to the outward rolling a lower-periphery outward folding step that folds a lower peripheral region of the airbag having been subjected to the inward folding towards the outboard side wall on a crease extending in a front and rear direction.