Vehicle side airbag device

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-9327673-B2
Application number	US-201114240613-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Aug 31, 2011
Priority date	Aug 31, 2011
Publication date	May 3, 2016
Grant date	May 3, 2016

Abstract

A vehicle side airbag device with a decreased load on the chest of passenger and an increased initial restraining performance resulting from a side airbag. In the side airbag device, a vent hole portion is formed from the stitching portion between a main panel and a side face panel being interrupted at a portion thereof. Flaps provided to the main panel and the side face panel are inserted from the vent hole portion into the chest chamber. The flaps close off the vent hole portion by means of the internal pressure of the chest chamber until the side airbag inflated and deployed between an occupant and a door trim. When the internal pressure of the chest chamber rise by means of chest chamber being compressed between the occupant and the door trim, the flaps are pushed out of an airbag main body portion, and the vent hole portion is opened.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A vehicle side airbag device comprising:
a side airbag that is formed with a bag-shaped airbag main body portion by stitching a base cloth, an inside of the airbag main body portion being partitioned into at least a chest chamber and a waist chamber;
an inflator that supplies gas to the chest chamber inside and to the waist chamber inside in an event of a vehicle side-on collision, thereby inflating and deploying the side airbag such that the chest chamber is present between a chest of an occupant and a vehicle body side portion, and the waist chamber is present between a waist of the occupant and the vehicle body side portion;
a vent hole portion that is provided to the side airbag by interrupting a portion of the stitching, and that places the chest chamber inside in communication with the airbag main body portion outside; and
a pair of tongue portions that extend out integrally in a tongue shape from peripheral edge portions of the base cloth adjacent on either side of the vent hole portion, and that are inserted inside the chest chamber through the vent hole portion,
wherein the pair of tongue portions are formed by cutting portions of the peripheral edge portions of the base cloth into the tongue shape,
wherein the pair of tongue portions face each other inside the chest chamber, and
wherein the pair of tongue portions are not stitched together.

2. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein:
the airbag main body portion is configured by
a pair of main base cloths that face each other in a vehicle width direction in an inflated and deployed state of the side airbag, and
a side face base cloth that is formed in a belt shape, that has one long side edge portion stitched to a peripheral edge portion of one of the main base cloths, and that has another long side edge portion stitched to a peripheral edge portion of an other main base cloth; and
the vent hole portion is formed by interrupting a portion of the stitching between the one main base cloth, that is disposed on the vehicle width direction outside in the inflated and deployed state, and the side face base cloth.

3. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 2 , wherein a first tongue portion of the pair of tongue portions provided to the one main base cloth and a second tongue portion of the pair of tongue portions provided to the side face base cloth mutually face each other inside the chest chamber.

4. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 3 , wherein the second tongue portion provided to the side face base cloth is formed shorter than the first tongue portion provided to the one main base cloth.

5. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein the airbag main body portion is configured by stitching together peripheral edge portions of a pair of base cloths that face each other in a vehicle width direction in an inflated and deployed state of the side airbag.

6. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 5 , wherein a first tongue portion of the pair of tongue portions provided to one of the pair of base cloths and a second tongue portion of the pair of tongue portions provided to another of the pair of base cloths mutually face each other inside the chest chamber.

7. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 1 , wherein the pair of tongue portions are formed with width dimensions that are the same as, or slightly shorter than, a length dimension of the vent hole portion.

8. A vehicle side airbag device comprising:
a side airbag that is formed with a bag-shaped airbag main body portion by stitching a base cloth with an inside of the airbag main body portion partitioned into at least a chest chamber and a waist chamber;
an inflator that supplies gas to the chest chamber inside and to the waist chamber inside in an event of a vehicle side-on collision, thereby inflating and deploying the side airbag such that the chest chamber is present between a chest of an occupant and a vehicle body side portion, and the waist chamber is present between a waist of the occupant and the vehicle body side portion;
a vent hole portion that is provided to the side airbag by interrupting a portion of the stitching, and that places the chest chamber inside in communication with the airbag main body portion outside; and
a pair of tongue portions that extend out integrally in a tongue shape from peripheral edge portions of the base cloth adjacent on either side of the vent hole portion, that is inserted inside the chest chamber through the vent hole portion, and that closes off the vent hole portion by internal pressure of the chest chamber due to the gas supplied from the inflator, and that releases the closing off by being pushed out to the outside of the airbag main body portion accompanying an increase in the internal pressure of the chest chamber due to the side airbag being compressed in a vehicle width direction in an inflated and deployed state of the side airbag,
wherein the pair of tongue portions are formed by cutting portions of the peripheral edge portions of the base cloth into the tongue shape,
wherein the pair of tongue portions face each other inside the chest chamber, and
wherein the pair of tongue portions are not stitched together.

9. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 8 , wherein:
the airbag main body portion is configured by
a pair of main base cloths that face each other in a vehicle width direction in the inflated and deployed state of the side airbag, and
a side face base cloth that is formed in a belt shape, that has one long side edge portion stitched to a peripheral edge portion of one of the main base cloths, and that has another long side edge portion stitched to a peripheral edge portion of an other main base cloth; and
the vent hole portion is formed by interrupting a portion of the stitching between the one main base cloth, that is disposed on the vehicle width direction outside in the inflated and deployed state, and the other main base cloth.

10. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 8 , wherein the airbag main body portion is configured by stitching together peripheral edge portions of a pair of base cloths that face each other in the vehicle width direction in the inflated and deployed state of the side airbag.

11. The vehicle side airbag device of claim 8 , wherein the pair of tongue portions are formed with width dimensions that are the same as, or slightly shorter than, a length dimension of the vent hole portion.

Assignees

• Fukawatase Osamu
• Fujiwara Yusuke
• Toyota Motor Co Ltd

Inventors

• Fukawatase Osamu
• Fujiwara Yusuke

Classifications

• B60R2021/23146

  seat mounted · CPC title

• B60R2021/23382

  Internal tether means · CPC title

• B60R21/2338

  Tethers · CPC title

• B60R21/239 Primary

  characterised by their venting means · CPC title

• B60R21/23138

  specially adapted for side protection (B60R21/23184, B60R21/232 take precedence) · CPC title