Air bag apparatus with movably mounted door
First Claim
1. An air bag apparatus provided in a dashboard where an opening is formed, for protecting a passenger from an impact of a vehicle, the air bag apparatus comprising:
- a case fixed to the vehicle in the dashboard, the case having an opening and a pair of side walls opposite to each other, each of the side walls having a first through hole portion at a predetermined position;
an inflator held in the case for generating gas upon detecting the impact of the vehicle;
a bag held in a folded state in the case, which expands by the gas generated from the inflator in order to protect the passenger;
a door having a door portion for closing the opening of the case in a normal state and for allowing the bag to expand outside of the door when the bag is expanded, and connecting portions which are connected to the side walls of the case, the connecting portions vertically extending from a back face of the door portion so as to face the side walls of the case, each of the connecting portions having a second through hole portion at a position corresponding to the predetermined position of the first through hole portion of one of the side walls; and
engaging members for connecting each of the connecting portions of the door and the respective side walls of the case by penetrating the respective first through hole portion and the respective second through hole portion together so that the door has degrees of freedom in three dimensions with respect to the case, the engaging members being fixed to the side walls with a specific distance from the respective first through hole portion.
1 Assignment
0 Petitions
Accused Products
Abstract
In an air bag apparatus which is installed at an opening of a dashboard, a case fixed to a vehicle dashboard has an opening and side walls having through holes. A door to cover the opening of the case has connecting portions having through holes. The connecting portions of the door are connected to the side walls of the case by stays. In this case, one end of each of the stays is fixed to the outer face of one of the side walls and the other end penetrates both the respective through holes of one of the side walls and one of the connecting portions so that the door can move in three dimensions with respect to the case. As a result, the door can be disposed at the opening of the dashboard without tilting with respect to the upper surface of the dashboard.
64 Citations
25 Claims
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1. An air bag apparatus provided in a dashboard where an opening is formed, for protecting a passenger from an impact of a vehicle, the air bag apparatus comprising:
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a case fixed to the vehicle in the dashboard, the case having an opening and a pair of side walls opposite to each other, each of the side walls having a first through hole portion at a predetermined position; an inflator held in the case for generating gas upon detecting the impact of the vehicle; a bag held in a folded state in the case, which expands by the gas generated from the inflator in order to protect the passenger; a door having a door portion for closing the opening of the case in a normal state and for allowing the bag to expand outside of the door when the bag is expanded, and connecting portions which are connected to the side walls of the case, the connecting portions vertically extending from a back face of the door portion so as to face the side walls of the case, each of the connecting portions having a second through hole portion at a position corresponding to the predetermined position of the first through hole portion of one of the side walls; and engaging members for connecting each of the connecting portions of the door and the respective side walls of the case by penetrating the respective first through hole portion and the respective second through hole portion together so that the door has degrees of freedom in three dimensions with respect to the case, the engaging members being fixed to the side walls with a specific distance from the respective first through hole portion. - View Dependent Claims (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11)
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12. An air bag apparatus provided in a dashboard where an opening is formed, for protecting a passenger from an impact of a vehicle, the air bag apparatus comprising:
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a case fixed to the vehicle in the dashboard, the case having an opening and a pair of side walls opposite to each other, each of the side walls having a first through hole portion at a predetermined position; an inflator held in the case for generating gas upon detecting the impact of the vehicle; a bag held in a folded state in the case, which expands by the gas generated from the inflator in order to protect the passenger; a door having a door portion for closing the opening of the case in a normal state and for allowing the bag to expand outside of the door when the bag is expanded, and connecting portions which are connected to the side walls of the case, the connecting portions vertically extending from a back face of the door portion so as to face the side walls of the case, each of the connecting portions having a second through hole portion at a position corresponding to the predetermined position of the first through hole portion of one of the side walls; and engaging members for connecting each of the connecting portions of the door and the respective side walls of the case by penetrating the respective first through hole portion and the respective second through hole portion together so that the door has decrees of freedom in three dimensions with respect to the case, wherein; the first through hole portion of each of the side walls includes several first through holes; and the second through hole portion of each of the connecting portions includes several second through holes so that each of the second through holes is opposed to one of the first through holes; each of the engaging members is formed into a comb shape having a base portion and several tooth portions which are integrally connected to the base portion at one end thereof; each of the tooth portions penetrates both the respective first through hole and the respective second through hole and is bent to contact with the inner face of one of the side walls at the inside of the case; and each of the base portions is fixed to the respective side wall at the outside of the case. - View Dependent Claims (13, 14)
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15. An air bag apparatus provided in a dashboard where an opening is formed, for protecting a passenger from an impact of a vehicle, the air bag apparatus comprising:
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an inflator for generating gas upon detecting the impact of the vehicle; a bag which expands by the gas generated in the inflator for protecting the passenger; a case for holding the inflator and the bag in a folded state, the case having an opening and a pair of side walls opposite to each other, each of the side walls having a first through hole portion; a door composed of a door portion which covers the opening of the case and connecting portions vertically extending from the door portion, each of the connecting portions having a second through hole portion at a position corresponding to a respective one of the first through hole portions; and engaging members for connecting the side walls of the case and the connecting portions of the door by penetrating both the first and the second through hole portions so as to make a space between the side walls and the connecting portions, the engaging members being fixed to the side walls of the case with a specific distance from the respective first through hole portion, wherein a width of the engaging members is smaller than a diameter of the second through hole portions so as to make a space between each of the engaging members and a periphery of the respective second through hole portion. - View Dependent Claims (16, 17)
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18. An air bag apparatus for protecting a passenger from an impact of a vehicle, the air bag apparatus comprising:
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a case fixed to the vehicle and having an opening and a side wall, the side wall having a first through hole portion; an inflator held in the case for generating gas upon detecting the impact of the vehicle; a bag held in a folded state in the case, which expands by the gas generated from the inflator in order to protect the passenger; a door having a door portion which covers the opening of the case and a connecting portion protruding from the door portion to face the side wall, the connecting portion having a second through hole portion at a position corresponding to the first through hole portion and an end portion provided on an opposite side of the second through hole portion with respect to the door portion; and an engaging member having a base portion fixed to the side wall, an engaging portion for penetrating the first and second through hole portions to connect the side wall and the connecting portion, and a covering portion provided between the base portion and the engaging portion, for covering the end portion of the connecting portion. - View Dependent Claims (19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25)
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Specification