Nihon Plast Co., Ltd.

Other

Michitaka Suzuki

Kazuhiro Kaneko

Toshiyuki Sugiyama

Kazuyoshi Nishijima

Tetsuji Endo

Masanori Narita

Mitsuo Ehama

Michael Anthony Bunce

A safety system includes a seatbelt apparatus for supporting a shoulder of a vehicle occupant, an airbag apparatus having an airbag body, and control means for controlling a sealing member. The airbag body is inflated to receive the occupant by gas introduced into the airbag body. The airbag body has first and second ports for exhausting the gas. The sealing member is disposed on the second exhaust port. The sealing member is set to either one of a first state where the gas is prevented from being exhausted from the second exhaust port and a second state where the gas is allowed to be exhausted. The sealing member is ordinarily set to the first state. The seatbelt apparatus outputs a seatbelt apparatus application signal to the control means when the seatbelt apparatus is applied to the occupant. The control means set the sealing means to the second state when the control means receives the seatbelt apparatus application signal.

Safety system for automobile

Air-bag device

An airbag module mounted on a boss section of a steering wheel of an automotive vehicle. The airbag module comprises an airbag which is inflatable and developable upon being supplied with gas. A cover is provided including a covering section for covering the airbag. A tearing line is formed at a surface of the covering section of the cover. The tearing line includes a central section having first and second ends which are opposite to each other, and first and second side sections to which the first and second ends of the central section are respectively connected. An inflator is provided having gas ejection openings through which gas is ejected. The gas ejection openings are located inside the airbag. A base member is provided such that the airbag is fixed thereto. Additionally, an opposite member is located opposite to the covering section of the cover and disposed inside the airbag. The opposite member includes a device for guiding gas from the gas ejection openings of the inflator toward first and second side sections of the tearing line of the covering section of the cover.

Airbag module

A folded air bag is covered with a synthetic resin cover body. A switch apparatus having a membrane switch and a back plate is disposed between the cover body and the air bag. The membrane switch is adhered to the back plate at a point in a central portion. An extension portion of the back plate is mounted to the base plate, thereby deploying outward independently from the cover at a time of expansion and deployment of the air bag.

Air bag apparatus

A steering which reduces vibration and is shock absorbing and deformable. The steering wheel comprises a rim and a boss with a plurality of spokes, the rim, boss and spokes having a core metal. A reinforced spoke-core metal has a spoke deformation region which is a part of the reinforced portion and is thinner than the remaining part of the reinforced portion. A raised portion is included on the driver-side of each spoke deformation region which increases the strength of core metals and restricts vibration of the core metals. The configuration creates a weak point for collapsing the steering wheel in a collision and impact with the steering wheel by the driver, that is, the raised portions receives tensile forces and break, thereby smoothly bending core metal bodies.

Reduced vibration shock absorbing deformable steering wheel

An occupant restraint system including a base plate, a flexible airbag module cover mounted to the baseplate, and a switch assembly which is disposed inside the cover and secured to the base plate. The flexible airbag module cover includes a flap portion forcedly separable from the cover and moveable from a normal closed position to an open position. The flap portion has a horn actuation area. The switch assembly includes a membrane type switch disposed behind the horn actuation area, and a back panel carrying the membrane type switch. The back panel has a switch support portion retaining the membrane type switch and a strap which is secured to the base plate and extends from the switch support portion.

Occupant restraint system

A horn switch arrangement for a vehicle steering wheel comprises a steering wheel affixed to a steering shaft of a vehicle, a horn plate movably mounted on the steering wheel with a spring urging the horn plate away from the steering wheel. The horn plate is provided with insulating members above and below for resiliently and mounting the horn plate in an insulated condition. A base plate is mounted on the upper insulating member the base plate being normally covered with a pad. The base plate may be further utilized to conveniently mount an airbag module on the steering wheel.

Growing community of inventors

Fuji, Japan

Michitaka Suzuki