Airbag device and vehicle seat

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11958428-B2
Application number	US-202017754500-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Sep 2, 2020
Priority date	Oct 4, 2019
Publication date	Apr 16, 2024
Grant date	Apr 16, 2024

Abstract

The present invention is an airbag device equipped in a vehicle seat having a seat cushion forming a seat surface and a seatback forming a backrest, containing: an inflator; and an airbag that is stowed in the seatback and deployed by the expansion gas discharged from the inflator. The airbag includes a pair of left and right side chambers that deploy from the side parts of the seatback forward and an upper chamber that is provided continuously with the side chambers and deploys above the head of the occupant. The airbag, from a state of being spread out before stowing, is rolled or folded and compressed in a long rod shape in a direction intersecting a longitudinal direction. The location corresponding to the upper chamber of the long rod-shaped airbag is stowed in a stowing part at the rear surface of the headrest at the upper part of the seatback.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. An airbag device equipped in a vehicle seat having a seat cushion forming a seat surface, a seatback forming a backrest, and a headrest arranged at an upper part of the seatback, the airbag device comprising:
an inflator for generating inflation gas;
an airbag stowed at least within the seatback that expands based on expansion gas discharged from the inflator,
the airbag includes a pair of left and right side chambers configured to deploy from side parts of the seatback forward and an upper chamber that is provided continuously with the side chambers and configured to deploy above the head of an occupant,
a portion of the airbag corresponding to the upper chamber is stowed in a stowing part provided above the seatback on a rear surface of the headrest; and
a cover member disposed between the airbag and the seatback, the cover member configured to deploy toward the rear surface of the headrest in conjunction with deployment of the airbag,
wherein the cover member extends completely around the airbag prior to deployment of the airbag.

2. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein
an upper end of the cover member and the airbag are deployable over at least a portion of a top of the headrest.

3. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein
a lateral width of the cover member is equal to or greater than a width of the headrest.

4. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein
the cover member is a flexible flap that envelops the portion of the airbag corresponding to the upper chamber of the airbag, and
a first end of the flexible flap is secured and a second end extends towards the upper part of the rear surface of the headrest in conjunction with deployment of the airbag.

5. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein
the stowing part includes a base part with a recessed part for retaining the portion corresponding to the upper chamber of the airbag, and
the base part is secured to a seat frame arranged in the seatback.

6. The airbag device according to claim 5 , wherein
the base part is provided with a plurality of strip members that cover the upper part of a location corresponding to the upper chamber of the airbag,
a first end of the strip members is secured to the base part and a second end engages with the base part by means of a hook, and
upon deployment of the airbag, the hook of the strip members disengage and the strip members function as the cover member.

7. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein
the portion corresponding to the upper chamber of the airbag is folded and formed into a folded part, and
the folded part is stowed in the stowing part.

8. A vehicle seat comprising the airbag device described in claim 1 .

9. The vehicle seat according to claim 8 , wherein a stepped part is provided in the rear surface of the seatback for placing the stowing part.

10. The vehicle seat according to claim 9 , wherein the stepped part is molded by processing a cushion material that makes up the seatback.

11. The vehicle seat according to claim 9 , wherein a front wall part extending upward is formed on a headrest side of the stepped part.

12. The vehicle seat according to claim 11 , wherein the cover member reaches above the front wall part when the airbag is deployed.

13. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein the airbag is configured to deploy up and over a top of the headrest and the cover member is deployable between the airbag and a rear side of the headrest.

14. The airbag device according to claim 1 , wherein a first end of the cover member is securable to a frame of the vehicle seat and a second end of the cover member is deployable toward an upper rear surface of the headrest in conjunction with deployment of the airbag.

15. The airbag device according to claim 1 , the portion of the airbag corresponding to the upper chamber is in a long rod shape in a direction intersecting a longitudinal direction prior to deployment.

16. An airbag device equipped in a vehicle seat having a seat cushion forming a seat surface, a seatback forming a backrest, and a headrest arranged at an upper part of the seatback, the airbag device comprising:
an inflator for generating inflation gas;
an airbag stowed at least within the seatback that expands based on expansion gas discharged from the inflator, the airbag includes a pair of left and right side chambers configured to deploy from side parts of the seatback forward and an upper chamber provided continuously with the side chambers and configured to deploy above the head of an occupant, a portion of the airbag corresponding to the upper chamber is stowed in a stowing part provided above the seatback on a rear surface of the headrest;
and a cover member disposed between the airbag and the seatback, the cover member configured to deploy toward the rear surface of the headrest in conjunction with deployment of the airbag,
wherein the airbag is configured to deploy up and over a top of the headrest and the cover member is deployable between the airbag and a rear side of the headrest
wherein the cover member extends around at least 3 sides of the airbag prior to deployment of the airbag.

17. A vehicle seat comprising the airbag device described in claim 16 .

18. An airbag device equipped in a vehicle seat having a seat cushion forming a seat surface, a seatback forming a backrest, and a headrest arranged at an upper part of the seatback, the airbag device comprising:
an inflator for generating inflation gas;
an airbag stowed at least within the seatback that expands based on expansion gas discharged from the inflator, the airbag includes a pair of left and right side chambers configured to deploy from side parts of the seatback forward and an upper chamber provided continuously with the side chambers and configured to deploy above the head of an occupant, a portion of the airbag corresponding to the upper chamber is stowed in a stowing part provided above the seatback on a rear surface of the headrest; and
a cover member disposed between the airbag and the seatback, the cover member configured to deploy toward the rear surface of the headrest in conjunction with deployment of the airbag,
wherein the cover member includes a first portion extending over the airbag and a second portion extending along a rear side of the airbag prior to deployment of the airbag
wherein the cover member extends around at least 3 sides of the airbag prior to deployment of the airbag.

19. A vehicle seat comprising the airbag device described in claim 17 .

Assignees

• Autoliv Dev

Inventors

• Shimizu Takayuki
• Nakashima Atsushi

Classifications

• B60R21/207 Primary

  in vehicle seats · CPC title

• B60R21/215

  characterised by the covers for the inflatable member {(B60R21/2176 takes precedence)} · CPC title

• B60R21/231

  characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration · CPC title

• B60R21/237

  characterised by the way they are folded · CPC title

• B60R21/2338

  Tethers · CPC title