Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha

Koji Shibayama

Yuji Sato

Kensaku Honda

Masashi Hotta

Daisuke Yamamura

Michiyasu Ito

Atsushi Nagata

Masashi Aoki

Shohei Ota

Kazuaki Bito

Yoshiaki Goto

Yasushi Okada

Tomoya Takeuchi

Shinji Yamada

Matsuo Nagata

Masanori Fukuoka

Yuta Okayama

Nobuya Nakano

Akira Suzuki

Akihisa Tange

Masami Shibata

Ryoichi Kato

Tomohisa Houdatsu

Kazuki Hisaminato

Yuki Noiri

The side airbag device includes an airbag in a folded state, including a pair of sheets provided facing each other, and an inflator including a supply port for supplying gas and configured to supply gas into the airbag. The airbag, with the pair of sheets deployed, includes a first portion including one end of the sheets in a first direction, a second portion including the other end, a third portion positioned between the first portion and the second portion, and a fourth portion positioned between the first portion and the third portion. The airbag is folded into a first state with the first portion and the fourth portion positioned between a pair of sheet parts corresponding to a part of the pair of sheets and included in the third portion, and further folded into a second state with a part of the pair of sheet parts arranged to sandwich the first portion and the fourth portion, folded with an accordion fold in a second direction perpendicular to the first direction. The supply port is arranged between another part of the pair of sheet parts.

Side airbag device and airbag folding method

A side airbag apparatus is employed in a vehicle seat that includes a seat back and a seat belt guide. The seat back includes an accommodation portion in a lateral portion. The seat belt guide is attached to the lateral portion at a location above the accommodation portion. The side airbag apparatus includes a gas generator, an airbag, and a pressure receiving member. The gas generator and the airbag are installed in the accommodation portion. The pressure receiving member is arranged rearward of the airbag, and includes a main body and an upper restricting portion. The main body includes a pressure receiving surface, which extends along an axis of the gas generator. The upper restricting portion is located above and adjacent to the main body and includes an upper restricting surface located forward of an imaginary upward extension of the pressure receiving surface.

Side airbag apparatus

An attachment structure, for a side airbag device including an airbag that is to be deployed and inflated on a side of an occupant seated on a seat in a vehicle interior under pressure of a gas supplied from an inflator, includes an attachment member via which the airbag is attached inside the seat. The attachment member includes a support portion that supports the airbag before the airbag is deployed and inflated, an attachment portion that is attached inside the seat, and a guide portion that guides the airbag to a seat outer side at a time when the airbag is deployed and inflated. The guide portion is provided so as to correspond to a part of the airbag supported by the support portion.

Attachment structure for side airbag device

A side airbag apparatus includes a side airbag housed in a seat back of a seat of a vehicle. The side airbag includes a lower protection portion configured to protect a portion below a head portion of the occupant, and an upper protection portion configured to protect the head portion. The side airbag is folded in a state in which the upper protection portion is folded toward a lower side so as to be positioned on an outer side in a width direction of the vehicle with respect to the lower protection portion, and a portion, that protrudes toward the front side with respect to the lower protection portion, of the upper protection portion folded toward the lower side, is folded toward a rear side so as to be positioned on an inner side in the width direction with respect to the lower protection portion.

An airbag apparatus includes a gas generator main body and an airbag. The gas generator main body includes a gas outlet portion, which includes gas discharging holes, and a non-outlet portion. The airbag includes an inflation portion, which is inflated by inflation gas, and a storage chamber, which is arranged outside the inflation portion and stores the gas generator main body. The storage chamber includes an insertion port for inserting the gas generator main body and a partition wall. The partition wall includes a pass-through portion through which the non-outlet portion is passed. The partition wall separates the storage chamber and the inflation portion from each other and restricts leakage of inflation gas in the inflation portion to the storage chamber through the gap between inner wall surface of the pass-through portion and the non-outlet portion.

Airbag apparatus

A side airbag apparatus includes an inflator, an airbag body that is configured to be deployed and inflated by inflation gas supplied from the inflator, and an inflated-dimension limiter arranged inside the airbag body. The inflated-dimension limiter is joined to the airbag body by a front joint portion provided at the front end of the inflated-dimension limiter. The inflated-dimension limiter is also joined, by a rear joint portion provided at the rear end of the inflated-dimension limiter, to a portion of the airbag body that is behind a section of the airbag body to which the inflated-dimension limiter is joined by the front joint portion. The dimension between the uppermost end and the lowermost end of the front joint portion is set to be different from the dimension between the uppermost end and the lowermost end of the rear joint portion.

An inflation portion of an airbag, which is inflated by inflation gas, is partitioned into an upstream inflation portion and a downstream inflation portion via a partition member. When being tensioned in a planar manner, the partition member has a length in a longitudinal direction that is longer than a length in a transverse direction perpendicular to the longitudinal direction. A pressure regulating valve that is closed at an early stage of a supply period of the inflation gas to the inflation portion and is opened from the middle of the supply period includes a slit-like inner opening that is provided on the partition member and extends in the transverse direction and a pair of valve body portions that are provided around the inner opening and are selectively positioned close to and separated from each other.

The airbag has a front portion, in which a front chamber is formed, a rear portion, in which a rear chamber is formed, and a partition, which partitions the front and rear chambers from each other. The partition has a communication passage for connecting the front and rear chambers to communicate to each other. A pressure regulating valve is located in the passage. At an early stage of a supply period during which an inflator supplies inflation gas to the airbag, the valve is closed to restrict flow of the inflation gas from the rear chamber to the front chamber via the passage. The valve is opened during the supply period to permit the inflation gas to flow therethrough. A front portion of the airbag is roll-folded, while a rear portion is accordion-folded. The airbag front portion and the airbag rear portion are located in front of the inflator.

An airbag apparatus includes an airbag. The airbag includes a gas releasing valve having first and second valve body portions each have a flexible portion. The flexible portions are flexible toward a released gas downstream side of inflation gas. An auxiliary joint portion joins the first and second valve body portions to each other and extending, from a position in the vicinity of and on a released gas upstream side of the flexible portion, further toward the released gas upstream side. A flex-resistant portion that extends in the gas releasing direction and is less flexible than the flexible portion is arranged on the auxiliary joint portion of the gas releasing valve or in the vicinity of the auxiliary joint portion.

A side airbag apparatus includes an airbagthat is inflated and deployed in a space between an occupant seated in a vehicle seatand a vehicle body side portion by inflation gas that is supplied from an inflatorin response to an impact applied to the vehicle from a side. The airbaghas a lumbar region protecting portionthat is inflated and deployed beside at least the lumbar region PP of the occupant, thereby protecting the lumbar region PP. In the side airbag apparatus, the lumbar region protecting portionhas a part A at which the thickness in the vehicle widthwise direction is the greatest. The position in the vertical direction of the part A is lower than a highest point B in a front portion of the seat cushionof the vehicle seat. These settings allow the part A to be inflated and deployed at a position that is spaced downward from the upper endU of an ilium of the occupant P.

An airbagis partitioned into a shoulder protecting portionand a lower region protecting portionby a partition portion. The shoulder protecting portionis inflated in a space that is beside the shoulder PS of an occupant P and beside and in the vicinity of the topof a door trim, thereby protecting the shoulder PS. The lower region protecting portionis inflated below the shoulder protecting portion, thereby protecting a part below the shoulder PS of the occupant P. The shoulder protecting portionhas a support portionand a shoulder receiving portion. When the inflated shoulder protecting portionfalls outward of the vehicle while pivoting on the partition portion, the support portioncontacts a part that is inward of and below the top, thereby supporting the shoulder protecting portion. When the shoulder protecting portionis supported by the door trimat the support portion, at least a part of the shoulder receiving portionis located above the topand contacts the shoulder PS of the occupant P at a position inward of an endA of the partition portionon the vehicle outer side. In this manner, the shoulder receiving portionreceives the shoulder PS.

A head-protecting airbag apparatus includes an airbag having such a vertical dimension that the lower end region thereof is located on the beltline of a door of a vehicle upon deployment. The airbag includes a plurality of vertical cells disposed side by side along an anteroposterior direction and each inflatable into a rod-like shape extending generally vertically and a reinforcing portion located either on the inboard side or on the outboard side of at least two adjoining vertical cells out of the vertical cells at the lower end region of the airbag. The reinforcing portion is in gas communication with the vertical cells and inflatable into a horizontal rod-like shape (extending across the adjoining vertical cells).

Head-protecting airbag apparatus

A side impact protection airbag system includes an inflator, a retainer and an airbag. An interior space of the airbag is divided into a pelvis portion protecting chamber and a chest portion protecting chamber by a dividing part. A gas ejecting part of the inflator and an opening in the retainer are provided between a fixing end portion of the airbag and an end portion (a connecting portion) of the dividing part which lies a side facing the fixing end portion. A circumferential portion on a wall part which is separate from the opening is made to constitute an interruption wall which interrupts the passage of an inflation gas to the dividing part side, and the interruption wall is provided between the gas ejecting part and the connecting portion.

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Kiyosu, Japan

Koji Shibayama