Vehicle side airbag device and manufacturing method of side airbag

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-2016114757-A1
Application number	US-201514884002-A
Country	US
Kind code	A1
Filing date	Oct 15, 2015
Priority date	Oct 27, 2014
Publication date	Apr 28, 2016
Grant date	—

Abstract

The present disclosure provides a vehicle side airbag device including: a side airbag, housed inside a side support section of a vehicle seat, that inflates and deploys toward a vehicle front side upon being supplied with gas from an inflator, the side airbag including: a bag body that is formed in a bag shape; a front-rear left-right partitioning cloth that partitions the bag body into a front bag section and a rear bag section, and that partitions the rear bag section into a left and a right chamber in a row along a vehicle width direction in an inflated and deployed state of the bag body; and a tether, provided at at least one chamber of the left or the right chamber, that bears tension in the inflated and deployed state, and that restricts inflation of the at least one chamber toward the vehicle front side.

First claim

What is claimed is:

1 . A vehicle side airbag device comprising:
a side airbag, housed inside a side support section of a seatback of a vehicle seat, that inflates and deploys toward a vehicle front side of the side support section upon being supplied with gas from an inflator, the side airbag including:
a bag body that is formed in a bag shape;
a front-rear left-right partitioning cloth that partitions the bag body into a front bag section and a rear bag section, and that partitions the rear bag section into a left chamber and a right chamber in a row along a vehicle width direction in an inflated and deployed state of the bag body; and
a tether, provided at at least one chamber of the left chamber or the right chamber, that bears tension in the inflated and deployed state, and that restricts inflation of the at least one chamber toward the vehicle front side.

2 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth includes a left cloth and a right cloth in a row in the vehicle width direction in the inflated and deployed state.

3 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein:
a front edge portion of the tether is stitched to a front portion of the at least one chamber; and a rear edge portion of the tether is stitched to a rear portion of the at least one chamber.

4 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein:
in the bag body, outer peripheral edge portions of a base cloth folded in two along a fold portion positioned at a front edge portion of the bag body are stitched together at an outer peripheral stitch portion; and a rear edge portion of the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth is stitched together with a rear edge portion of the bag body at the outer peripheral stitch portion.

5 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , further comprising an up-down partitioning cloth that partitions the bag body into the front bag section and the rear bag section, and a lower bag section.

6 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 4 , further comprising an up-down partitioning cloth that partitions the bag body into the front bag section and the rear bag section, and a lower bag section.

7 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 2 , wherein communication holes are formed at both the left cloth and the right cloth, the communication holes placing the tell chamber and the right chamber in communication with the front bag section.

8 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 4 , wherein:
a front edge portion of the tether is stitched to a front-rear direction intermediate portion of the base cloth, and to a front edge portion of a left cloth or a right cloth that configure the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth, at a front edge stitch portion; and a rear edge portion of the tether is stitched to a rear portion of the base cloth at a rear edge stitch portion.

9 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 4 , wherein a front edge portion of the tether is stitched to the base cloth at a stitch portion that is set further to a rear edge side of the hag body than a front edge stitch portion.

10 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 4 , wherein a rear edge portion of the tether is stitched to the bag body and to rear edge portions of a left cloth and a right cloth, which configure the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth, at the outer peripheral stitch portion.

11 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein a peripheral length of a region of the bag body that configures the rear bag section is set to be longer than a length dimension of a region of the tether that is positioned inside the left chamber and the right chamber.

12 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 5 , wherein slack stitch portions are respectively provided at an upper portion of the rear bag section and at the lower bag section.

13 . The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein:
the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth extends as far as a lower edge portion of the bag body; a lower edge portion of the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth is stitched to the lower edge portion of the bag, body at an outer peripheral stitch portion; and the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth is formed with a width dimension that increases on progression from an upper edge portion side to a lower edge portion side of the bag body.

14 . A manufacturing method of a side airbag provided at the vehicle side airbag device according to claim 4 , the side airbag manufacturing method comprising:
superimposing one or two of the tethers on one or both sides in a direction orthogonal to the fold portion of the base cloth prior to being folded in two, superimposing a left cloth and a right cloth provided at the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth on both the sides of the base cloth, and stitching front edge portions positioned at the fold portion side of the left cloth and the right cloth, and of the one or two tethers, to the base cloth at front edge stitch portions; folding the base cloth in two along the fold portion, and stitching intermediate portions in a direction orthogonal to the fold portion of the left cloth and the right cloth together at an intermediate stitch portion running parallel to the front edge stitch portions; and stitching a rear edge portion of the one or two tethers to the base cloth at a rear edge stitch portion and stitching outer peripheral edge portions of the base cloth that has been folded in two to upper edge portions, rear edge portions, and lower edge portions of the left cloth and the right cloth at the outer peripheral stitch portion, or, stitching together the rear edge portion of the one or two tethers while stitching the outer peripheral edge portions of the base cloth that has been folded in two to the upper edge portions, the rear edge portions, and the lower edge portions of the left cloth and die right cloth at the outer peripheral stitch portion.

15 . A manufacturing method of a side airbag provided at the vehicle side airbag device according to claim 6 , the side airbag manufacturing method comprising:
superimposing the up-down partitioning cloth at one side in a direction along the fold portion of the base cloth prior to being folded in two, and stitching an upper edge portion of the up-down partitioning cloth positioned at the other side in the direction along the fold portion to the base cloth at an upper edge stitch portion; superimposing one or two of the tethers on a center side in the direction along the fold portion, and on one or both sides in a direction orthogonal to the fold portion of the base cloth, superimposing a left cloth and a right cloth provided at the front-rear left-right partitioning cloth on both the sides of the base cloth, and stitching front edge portions positioned at the fold portion side of the left cloth and the right cloth, and of the one or two tethers, to the base cloth at front edge stitch portions folding the base cloth and the up-down partitioning cloth in two along the fold portion, and stitching intermediate portions in a direction orthogonal to the told portion of the left cloth and the right cloth together at an intermediate stitch portion running parallel to the front edge stitch portions and stitching together lower edge portions positioned at an opposite side from the upper edge stitch portion of the up-down partitioning cloth folded in two at a lower edge stitch portion; and stitching a rear edge portion of the one or two tethers to the base cloth at a rear edge stitch portion and stitching outer peripheral edge portions of the base cloth th

Assignees

• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fujiwara Yusuke

Classifications

• D05B13/00

  Machines for sewing sacks · CPC title

• B60R21/235

  characterised by their material · CPC title

• B60R21/2338

  Tethers · CPC title

• D05B1/26

  for making fluid-tight seams (sewing machines for concurrently making thread and welded seams D05B17/00) · CPC title

• D05B1/04

  Running-stitch seams · CPC title