Airbag device for driver's seat

• US 9,738,243 B2
• Filed: 09/08/2016
• Issued: 08/22/2017
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2015
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha (Toyota Motor Corporation)
• Inventors: Fukawatase, Osamu, Nakashima, Atsushi
• Primary Examiner(s): Verley, Nicole T
• Application Number:
  US15/259,906
• Publication Number:
  US 20170129444A1
• Time in Patent Office: 348 Days
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 2021/23386 External tether means
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2032 the inflator or inflatable member not being rotatable with the steering wheel; Arrangements using the steering column or steering wheel rim for storing, supplying or evacuating the inflation gas or for storing the inflatable member
• CPC Class Codes: B60R 21/2338 Tethers

Abstract

An airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat, includes: a steering wheel; a wheel pad portion; a main body airbag that is configured to receive a supply of gas and to be inflated and deployed at a vehicle rear side of the steering wheel; a side portion chamber that is provided at a side portion in a vehicle transverse direction of the main body airbag, and that is configured to receive a supply of gas from the main body airbag and to be inflated and deployed from the side portion of the main body airbag toward the vehicle rear side; and a regulating tether that connects the main body airbag to a rear portion or a front-rear direction intermediate portion of the side portion chamber, and that restricts the side portion chamber from collapsing toward a side removed from a center of the main body airbag in the vehicle transverse direction.

Claims

1. An airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat, comprising:

a steering wheel that is rotatably supported at a vehicle body;

a wheel pad portion that is provided at a central portion of the steering wheel, and that does not rotate with respect to the vehicle body;

a main body airbag that is accommodated within the wheel pad portion, and that is configured to receive a supply of gas and to be inflated and deployed at a vehicle rear side of the steering wheel;

a side portion chamber that is provided at a side portion in a vehicle transverse direction of the main body airbag, and that is configured to receive a supply of gas from the main body airbag and to be inflated and deployed from the side portion of the main body airbag toward the vehicle rear side; and

a regulating tether that connects the main body airbag to a rear portion or a front-rear direction intermediate portion of the side portion chamber, and that restricts the side portion chamber from collapsing toward a side removed from a center of the main body airbag in the vehicle transverse direction, wherein;

the regulating tether has a main body side connecting portion that is connected to the main body airbag, and a chamber side connecting portion that is connected to the side portion chamber,

when the main body airbag, which has been inflated and deployed, is viewed from a height direction upper side of the main body airbag, the main body side connecting portion is positioned at an opposite side, in the vehicle transverse direction, from the side portion chamber with respect to a central line along a thickness direction of the main body airbag.

2. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein:

the chamber side connecting portion is positioned further toward the vehicle rear side than a center of gravity of an occupant head portion, when viewing, from a vehicle transverse direction outer side, a head portion contacting state in which the occupant head portion, which faces a vehicle front side, is made to contact both a rear surface at the vehicle rear side of the main body airbag that has been inflated and deployed and an inner side surface at a main body airbag side of the side portion chamber that has been inflated and deployed.

3. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein:

the chamber side connecting portion is provided at an upper surface of the side portion chamber,

the main body side connecting portion is provided at an upper surface of the main body airbag, and

when the head portion contacting state is viewed from the vehicle transverse direction outer side, the chamber side connecting portion and the main body side connecting portion are positioned further toward a vehicle upper side than the occupant head portion.

4. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 3, wherein, when the head portion contacting state is viewed from the vehicle transverse direction outer side, the chamber side connecting portion and the main body side connecting portion are positioned further toward the vehicle upper side than a top portion of the occupant head portion.

5. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 2, wherein, when the head portion contacting state is viewed from the vehicle transverse direction outer side, the center of gravity of the occupant head portion overlaps with the side portion chamber.

6. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 5, wherein, when the head portion contacting state is viewed from the vehicle transverse direction outer side, the side portion chamber overlaps with the entire occupant head portion.

7. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein:

the main body airbag is inflated and deployed between the steering wheel and an occupant head portion of an occupant seated in a driver'"'"'s seat;

a rear surface at the vehicle rear side of the main body airbag that is in an inflated and deployed state has;

a head portion contact region that is contacted by the occupant head portion of the occupant, who has moved toward a vehicle front side in conjunction with a front collision, and

a shoulder portion contact region that is contacted by an occupant shoulder portion of the occupant who has moved toward the vehicle front side in conjunction with the front collision; and

the side portion chamber is provided at the side portion in the vehicle transverse direction at the head portion contact region of the main body airbag.

8. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 7, wherein, when the main body airbag that is in the inflated and deployed state is viewed from a thickness direction rear side of the main body airbag, a region, which is at a vehicle upper side of the main body airbag with respect to a central line along the vehicle transverse direction that passes through a center of the main body airbag, comprises the head portion contact region, and a region at a vehicle lower side of the main body airbag with respect to the central line comprises the shoulder portion contact region.

9. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein the regulating tether is stretched between the main body airbag and the side portion chamber, in conjunction with inflation and deployment of the main body airbag and the side portion chamber.

10. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein the side portion chamber is respectively provided at the side portions at both vehicle transverse direction sides of the main body airbag.

11. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein a connection hole, which connects an interior of the main body airbag and an interior of the side portion chamber, is formed in the main body airbag and the side portion chamber.

12. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 11, wherein the connection hole connects the interior of the main body airbag to an upper portion of the side portion chamber.

13. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein a plurality of connection holes, which respectively connect an interior of the main body airbag to an upper portion or a lower portion of the side portion chamber, are formed in the main body airbag and the side portion chamber.

14. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein the regulating tether is formed in a shape of a strip.

15. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein, when an inflated and deployed state of the main body airbag is viewed from a thickness direction rear side of the main body airbag, an outer diameter of the main body airbag is larger than an outer diameter of a rim of the steering wheel.

16. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, further comprising an inflator that is provided at the steering wheel and that is configured to supply gas to the main body airbag.

17. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 16, wherein the side portion chamber is configured to be inflated and deployed by receiving a supply of gas from the inflator via the main body airbag.

18. The airbag device for a driver'"'"'s seat of claim 1, wherein, when an inflated and deployed state of the main body airbag is viewed from a thickness direction rear side of the main body airbag, the main body airbag is formed in a circular shape.