Vehicle airbag device and passenger protection device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-12589710-B2
Application number	US-202418792557-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 2, 2024
Priority date	Aug 14, 2023
Publication date	Mar 31, 2026
Grant date	Mar 31, 2026

Abstract

A left-right pair of rear tethers is configured such that one-end portions thereof are anchored to a left-right pair of front-rear extension portions, other-end portions thereof are anchored to a seatback or to the vehicle body, and during passenger restraint each of a left-right pair of front-rear extension portions is pulled relatively in a seat diagonally rearward and downward direction such that a coupling portion approaches a femur area of a passenger.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle airbag device, comprising:
an inflator that is configured to generate gas during a vehicle collision; an airbag that is configured to be supplied with the gas and configured to expand and deploy from a seat rear side to a seat front side of an upper section of a vehicle seat; and a left-right pair of rear tethers that couples the airbag to a seatback of the vehicle seat or to a vehicle body, wherein the airbag includes:
a front-rear chamber including
a left-right pair of front-rear extension portions that is configured to expand and deploy toward the seat front side past left and right sides of a head of a passenger seated in the vehicle seat, and
a coupling portion that links together, in a seat left-right direction, front end portions at completion of expansion and deployment of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions, and

an airbag body that is configured to expand and deploy at the seat rear side of the coupling portion toward a passenger side with a delay with respect to the front-rear chamber, wherein the airbag body is configured to be compressed so as to be sandwiched between a femur area and a chest area of the passenger and contact both the femur area and the chest area of the passenger while the front-rear extension portions are being stretched in a seat front-rear direction during passenger restraint to restrain the passenger,
one-end portions of the left-right pair of rear tethers are anchored to the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions, other-end portions of the left-right pair of rear tethers are anchored to the seatback or to the vehicle body, and each of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions is configured to, during the passenger restraint, be pulled relatively in a seat diagonally rearward and downward direction to cause the coupling portion to approach the femur area of the passenger.

2 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 1 , further comprising:
a left-right pair of pre-tensioner mechanisms provided at the seatback or at the vehicle body and configured to pull the left-right pair of rear tethers after completion of expansion and deployment of the airbag.

3 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 2 , wherein
the left-right pair of pre-tensioner mechanisms is provided left-right symmetrically at left and right side portions of the seatback.

4 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 1 , wherein
a coefficient of extension with respect to a length direction of the left-right pair of rear tethers is smaller than a coefficient of extension in a length direction of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions.

5 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 4 , wherein
the left-right pair of rear tethers is configured from a material more inelastic than the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions.

6 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 4 , wherein
the left-right pair of rear tethers has a grain direction parallel to a length direction thereof, and the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions has a grain direction angled with respect to a length direction thereof.

7 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 4 , wherein
at least a portion of the left-right pair of rear tethers includes a reinforcement sewn portion sewn along a length direction thereof.

8 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 7 , wherein
the reinforcement sewn portion is provided continuously along the length direction of the left-right pair of rear tethers.

9 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 7 , wherein
a plurality of reinforcement sewn portions is provided spaced apart from each other along the length direction of the left-right pair of rear tethers.

10 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 1 , wherein
the airbag body at completion of expansion and deployment is configured to oppose the head, the chest area, and an abdominal area of the passenger from a front side across a gap.

11 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 10 , wherein
a lower face of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions is configured to, during the passenger restraint, abut left and right shoulders of the passenger.

12 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 1 , wherein
each of the one-end portions of the left-right pair of rear tethers is connected to a corresponding front portion of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions at a position of overlap between the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions and the airbag body at the completion of expansion and deployment of the airbag body, in a seat side view.

13 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 1 , wherein:
the front-rear chamber has a bag shape by peripheral edge portions of two sheets of superimposed base clothes being sewn at a peripheral edge sewn section; and each of the left-right pair of rear tethers is sewn to the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions at a portion of the peripheral edge sewn section.

14 . The vehicle airbag device of claim 13 , wherein
the left-right pair of rear tethers is sewn together with a reinforcement cloth to the two sheets of superimposed base clothes of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions at the peripheral edge sewn section.

15 . A passenger protection device, comprising:
a vehicle seat for a passenger to sit on; and a vehicle airbag device of installed at a seat rear side of an upper section of the vehicle seat, wherein the vehicle airbag device comprises
an inflator that is configured to generate gas during a vehicle collision;
an airbag that is configured to be supplied with the gas and configured to expand and deploy from the seat rear side to a seat front side of the upper section of the vehicle seat; and
a left-right pair of rear tethers that couples the airbag to a seatback of the vehicle seat or to a vehicle body,
the airbag includes:
a front-rear chamber including
a left-right pair of front-rear extension portions that is configured to expand and deploy toward the seat front side past left and right sides of a head of the passenger seated in the vehicle seat, and
a coupling portion that links together, in a seat left-right direction, front end portions at completion of expansion and deployment of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions, and

an airbag body that is configured to expand and deploy at the seat rear side of the coupling portion toward a passenger side with a delay with respect to the front-rear chamber, wherein the airbag body is configured to be compressed so as to be sandwiched between a femur area and a chest area of the passenger and contact both the femur area and the chest area of the passenger while the front-rear extension portions are being stretched in a seat front-rear direction during passenger restraint to restrain the passenger,
one-end portions of the left-right pair of rear tethers are anchored to the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions, other-end portions of the left-right pair of rear tethers are anchored to the seatback or to the vehicle body, and each of the left-right pair of front-rear extension portions is configured to, during the passenger restraint, be pulled relatively in a seat diagonally rearward and downward direction to cause the coupling portion to approach the femur area of the passenger.

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Iwama Toshiki
• Ohno Mitsuyoshi
• Suzuki Yu
• Hashido Tatsuya

Classifications

• B60R2021/23146

  seat mounted · CPC title

• B60R2021/23386

  External tether means · CPC title

• B60R21/2338

  Tethers · CPC title

• B60R21/207 Primary

  in vehicle seats · CPC title

• B60R2021/2074

  in head rests · CPC title