Occupant protection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-10315606-B2
Application number	US-201515562200-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 17, 2015
Priority date	Apr 28, 2015
Publication date	Jun 11, 2019
Grant date	Jun 11, 2019

Abstract

An occupant protection device includes a multidirectional airbag that inflates and deploys from a state housed in a headrest on receipt of supplied gas. The multidirectional airbag is configured as an integral bag body to surround a head of a seated occupant with a front deployment section and a pair of left and right lateral deployment sections. The front deployment section includes a front inflating portion that deploys to a seat forward direction of the head of the seated occupant and of at least one of a shoulder or chest of the seated occupant. Each of the pair of left and right lateral deployment sections includes a lateral inflating portion that is connected to the front deployment section and inflates and deploys alongside the head of the seated occupant.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An occupant protection device comprising:
an airbag that inflates and deploys from a state of being housed in a headrest or seatback on receipt of supplied gas, the airbag being configured as an integral bag body to surround a head of an occupant with a front deployment section and a pair of left and right lateral deployment sections; and
the front deployment section comprising a front inflating portion that inflates and deploys to a seat forward direction of the head of the occupant and of at least one of a shoulder or chest of the occupant, and the pair of left and right lateral deployment sections each comprising a lateral inflating portion that is connected to the front deployment section and that inflates and deploys alongside the head of the occupant,
wherein:
the front inflating portion is partitioned from each of the lateral inflating portions by a vertically-extending non-inflating portion, and
the front inflating portion is configured so as to inflate and deploy earlier than the lateral inflating portions.

2. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein the lateral inflating portions inflate and deploy on receipt of supplied gas from the front inflating portion.

3. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein the lateral inflating portions are configured such that, in an inflated and deployed state of the lateral inflating portions having received supplied gas, lower ends of the lateral inflating portions contact shoulders of the occupant from above.

4. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , further comprising a three-point type seatbelt device to restrain a waist of the occupant with a lap belt and to restrain an upper body of the occupant with a shoulder belt, wherein:
the front inflating portion is configured to comprise:
a first shoulder restraint portion that, upon receipt of supplied gas, inflates and deploys to the seat forward direction of a shoulder on a shoulder belt-restrained side of the occupant, and
a second shoulder restraint portion that, upon receipt of supplied gas, inflates and deploys closer to the occupant than the first shoulder restraint portion to the seat forward direction of a shoulder on a non-shoulder belt-restrained side of the occupant.

5. The occupant protection device of claim 4 , wherein a capacity of the second shoulder restraint portion is greater than a capacity of the first shoulder restraint portion.

6. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein:
the front inflating portion is configured to comprise an upper body restraint portion that inflates and deploys to the seat forward direction of at least one of the shoulder or chest of the occupant; and
the occupant protection device further comprises a coupling cloth that deploys in a state of coupling the upper body restraint portion to either the headrest or seatback, and that has a stretch ratio equivalent to or less than that of the airbag.

7. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein the airbag further comprises a duct portion that inflates and deploys from the headrest or seatback toward the seat forward direction and above the head of the occupant, and that supplies gas to the front inflating portion.

8. The occupant protection device of claim 7 , wherein the airbag is housed inside the headrest or seatback in a state in which a portion of the airbag comprising the front inflating portion and the duct portion is folded up in an outwardly rolled shape from a front end side toward a seat upper side and rear side.

9. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , further comprising a guide cloth that is configured with a lower coefficient of friction with respect to the airbag than a vehicle ceiling material, and that deploys from an upper portion of the headrest or seatback earlier than the airbag inflates and deploys.

10. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , further comprising a module case that is disposed to a seat rearward direction of a headrest body configuring the headrest, and that houses the airbag in a folded-up state and houses an inflator for supplying gas to the airbag.

11. The occupant protection device of claim 10 , wherein the module case is configured to jut out upward of and to both seat width direction sides of the headrest.

12. The occupant protection device of claim 10 , wherein the module case comprises a rear wall having an upper end projecting out further upward than the headrest and tilting forward, the rear wall being configured to function as a support wall to support the airbag from the seat rearward direction during an inflation and deployment process.

13. The occupant protection device of claim 10 , wherein the module case comprises a rear wall having an upper end projecting out further upward than the headrest and tilting forward, the rear wall being configured to function as a guide wall to guide the airbag toward the seat forward direction during an inflation and deployment process.

14. The occupant protection device of claim 10 , wherein:
a stay of the headrest is formed in a crank shape such that an upper portion of the stay is positioned further toward the seat forward direction than a lower portion of the stay; and
the airbag is housed to the rearward direction of the upper portion of the stay.

15. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , further comprising a side airbag that inflates and deploys alongside an upper body of the occupant upon receipt of supplied gas, wherein:
configuration is made such that the airbag does not overlap with the side airbag in side view in a non-restraining inflated and deployed state of the airbag and a non-restraining inflated and deployed state of the side airbag.

16. The occupant protection device of claim 15 , wherein the side airbag is respectively provided at side sections on both seat width direction sides of the seatback.

17. The occupant protection device of claim 15 , wherein:
the side airbag is provided at an outer side section at a vehicle width direction outer side of the seatback; and
the occupant protection device further comprises:
a first inflator that is supported by a frame at an inner side of the outer side section, and that supplies gas to the side airbag, and
a second inflator that is supported by a frame at an inner side of an inner side section at a vehicle width direction central side of the seatback, and that supplies gas to the airbag.

18. The occupant protection device of claim 17 , wherein the airbag is housed in a seatback comprising an integral headrest.

19. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein the front deployment section is configured to comprise a see-through structure provided at a portion positioned in front of the head of the occupant and allowing the occupant to see an area at the front side of the front deployment section.

20. The occupant protection device of claim 1 , wherein the lateral inflating portion is partitioned to the front and rear at a portion of the vertically-extending non-inflating portion.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Ohno Mitsuyoshi
• Shimazu Katsuya
• Iwamoto Hiroaki

Classifications

• B60R2021/161

  characterised by additional means for controlling deployment trajectory · CPC title

• B60R2021/0048

  Head · CPC title

• B60R2021/2074

  in head rests · CPC title

• B60R2021/0009

  Oblique collision · CPC title

• B60R21/207 Primary

  in vehicle seats · CPC title