Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Naohiko Ishiguro

Ryotaro Ishida

Hiroyuki Nakanishi

Wataru Miura

Hitoshi Iida

Michihisa Asaoka

Mikine Hayashi

Atsushi Nagata

Kazuaki Bito

Akitoshi Naganawa

Yoshiaki Goto

Kenichi Fukurono

Shun Ito

Mitsuhiro Kikuta

Kenji Sasaki

Tadashi Yamada

Tsutomu Ishii

Yoshiyuki Fujita

Yoshiaki Maekubo

Bunpei Morita

Hiroshi Yasuda

Yoshinori Masatsugu

Ichizo Shiga

Masanari Sakamoto

Masami Shibata

Wataru Miuta

Akira Tomita

An airbag has a main bag portion that is provided with an occupant protective surface which is disposed to face the occupant and an auxiliary bag portion that can be disposed on the left side of the storage part, between the main bag portion and a vehicle body-side member, when the inflation is completed. The auxiliary bag portion is configured to enable an inflating gas to flow into an inside thereof through the main bag portion, is configured to be inflated under control of a control mechanism in association with a collision mode of a vehicle, and is configured to be interposed between the main bag portion and the vehicle body-side member and to be capable of pushing a region of the occupant protective surface on a side of the auxiliary bag portion, which is inflated, toward a side of the occupant, when the inflation is completed.

Airbag apparatus

An airbag includes: a bag body forming the outer peripheral wall; and a regulating member disposed on an outer peripheral side of the bag body at a time of inflation completion of the bag body. The regulating member is configured so as to be able to regulate the bag body so that an area ranging from the vicinity of a joint portion for mutually joining the outer peripheral edge of the vehicle body side panel and the outer peripheral edge of the occupant side panel to a side of the gas inflow port at the time of inflation completion of the airbag is made smaller in external dimensions and reduced in size than an area at a time of free inflation state of the bag body.

Airbag

An airbag includes a driver side portion having an outer peripheral wall to receive a driver at the time of completion of inflation; and a steering wheel side portion. The steering wheel side portion is provided with an inflow opening to allow inflation gas to flow in, and an attaching seat which is disposed on a peripheral edge of the inflow opening and attached to the central portion of the steering wheel; a support inflation portion protruding from a front side of the attaching seat toward a front side of the steering wheel is arranged on the steering wheel side portion; and a support surface portion. The support surface portion is abutted to and supported by a front surface side of the steering wheel and is arranged on a region on a rear surface side of the support inflation portion from a base portion to a tip end portion.

An airbag includes: an outer member configured to form an outer peripheral wall upon completing inflation, which includes a driver side portion configured to receive a driver, and a steering-wheel side portion supported by a steering wheel; and an inner member provided to expand inside the outer member. The inner member has a supply port for supplying inflation gas to the outer member and covers the inflow opening of the outer member to be arranged on an upstream side of flow of the inflation gas flowing from the inflow opening into the airbag such that a higher pressure can be maintained in the inner member than the outer member. The inner member includes a front support inflating portion configured to support a portion of the driver side portion of the outer member at least at a front side upon completing inflation of the airbag.

An occupant protection device includes an airbag, covering a front area from a passenger seat to a driver seat at the time of completion of inflation, including: a passenger-seat receiving inflation part; a driver-seat receiving inflation part; an inflow side inflation part; an end-side flow path part disposed so that both ends of the inflow side inflation part in the right and left direction are respectively connected with end edges of the passenger-seat receiving inflation part and the driver-seat receiving inflation part; and a central flow path part disposed so that the inflow side inflation part is connected with a proximity edge part where the passenger-seat receiving inflation part is close to the driver-seat receiving inflation part, wherein the inflow side inflation part is configured so that at least both right and left end sides at the time of completion of inflation are attached in the housing portion.

Occupant protection device

An airbag device includes an airbag stored in a storage part provided in front of an occupant seated on a seat. The airbag has an occupant protecting section configured to protect the occupant on a rear surface at the time of completion of inflation; the occupant protecting section includes: an upper half body restraining surface configured to receive an upper half body of the occupant; and a head receiving section formed in a left region and a right region of a center in a left-right direction of the occupant protecting section to protrude rearward from the upper half body restraining surface, in a region above the upper half body restraining surface. The head receiving section is configured so that a part between a left restraining surface and a right restraining surface upon completion of inflation is continued from the upper half body restraining surface.

Airbag device

An airbag of an airbag device for a driver's seat includes an exhaust strap which includes a cover section that closes off an outer opening of a vent hole at airbag deployment and connecting bands extending from opposite sides of the cover section and joined to the center of a driver-side wall. When the driver-side wall of the airbag cushions the driver at airbag deployment and moves toward a vehicle-side wall, the connecting bands of the exhaust strap loosen and allow a distant edge region of the cover section to loosen and pass through the outer opening such that the outer opening and an inner opening communicate to open the vent hole. The cover section includes a reinforcing element that prevents the distant edge from slipping towards a proximate edge while allowing a bending deformation of the distant edge to pass through the outer opening and open the vent hole.

Airbag device for a driver's seat

An airbag of an airbag device for a driver's seat includes an exhaust strap which includes a cover section that closes off an outer opening of a vent hole at airbag deployment in an openable fashion and connecting bands extending from opposite sides of the cover section and joined to a driver-side wall. The exhaust strap is so configured, when the driver-side wall of the airbag cushions the driver at airbag deployment and moves toward a vehicle-side wall, that the connecting bands loosen and allow a region towards a distant edge of the cover section to loosen and pass through the outer opening such that the outer opening and an inner opening communicate to open the vent hole. The length of the distant edge of the exhaust strap is shorter than a length of a proximate edge of the exhaust strap.

In a driver seat airbag apparatus, an airbag includes a belt member and a vent mechanism. The belt member includes two connecting sections extending from opposite sides of a cover portion for covering a vent hole. The vent mechanism includes an outer panel that has a vent hole and is located outside of the cover portion, an inner panel that has an inner opening and is located on an inner side of the cover portion, and a guide. The connecting sections run through the guide and move toward the vent hole for letting the cover portion open the vent hole. The guide holds the connecting sections such that the connecting sections serve as the tethers. A joint of the tethers to the driver side wall is located toward a center of the driver side wall relative to the vent hole as viewed from a side of the driver side wall.

Airbag apparatus for a driver's seat

An airbag of an airbag apparatus includes a vent mechanism. The vent mechanism includes a vent hole, a belt member including a cover portion for covering the vent hole and two connecting sections extending from both sides of the cover portion and serving as tethers, an outer panel located on an outer side of the cover portion, an inner panel located on an inner side of the cover portion and provided with an inner opening. The vent hole is formed on the outer panel. The connecting sections are run through the guide section so as to move toward the vent hole and let the cover portion loosen and open the vent hole when an occupant side wall of the airbag catches an occupant and moves toward a vehicle body side wall. The guide section also holds the connecting sections such that the connecting sections serve as the tethers.

An airbag is provided with a vent hole and a patch closing the vent hole. The airbag has a conically-shaped protrusion with the front narrowed when inflation is finished. The vent hole and patch are at the vehicle body side wall of the protrusion. The airbag has the reaction force-receiving contact portion that is partially recessed toward an occupant by receiving a reaction force substantially opposite to the approach direction of the occupant from the reaction force-applying support portion of the vehicle body structure when the occupant is cushioned, at the vehicle body side wall of the protrusion. The patch is positioned where the vent hole can keep closed when the airbag finishes inflating. The patch is not pressed against the reaction force-applying support portion but is spaced from the circumferential edge portion of the vent hole that moves when the reaction force-receiving contact portion is recessed.

An airbag includes a tuck that is formed by tucking a part of the outer circumferential wall toward an interior of the airbag. The tuck includes two opposing walls, a turn-round region that forms a bottom of the tuck and outermost ends of the opposing walls adjacent to and continuing to an outer surface of the airbag. The airbag further includes a temporary joint that joins the opposing walls of the tuck together in such a manner as to disjoint when an inner pressure of the airbag at inflation is increased. The temporary joint is formed into such a line that extends toward the turn-round region and has a first end proximate the outermost ends and a second end in the vicinity of the turn-round region.

The airbag of an airbag apparatus is provided with a slip member that is disposed on the outer surface of an occupant protection area of an airbag main body and can suppress load to an occupant by allowing the airbag main body to slide when the airbag comes in contact with the occupant while being developed and inflated. The slip member is connected to the airbag main body at both left and right edges and a rear-lower edge. In the slip member, a left connecting portion and a right connecting portion for connecting both left and right edges to the airbag main body are connected at a position before and above the center of the occupant protection area, and the rear connecting portion for connecting the rear-lower edge to the airbag main body is connected at a position rear-lower the center of the occupant protection area.

An actuator includes a piston having an actuating pin, a squib, and a cylinder case. The cylinder case has a peripheral wall part that covers the circumference of the piston and a ceiling wall part having a through hole which allows an actuating pin to protrude from the through hole. The actuator is configured to make the a piston move backward along with the actuating pin by ejecting a driving gas generated from the squib to a space between the ceiling wall part and the piston during actuation. A sealing ring which is relatively movable with respect to the actuating pin while maintaining the state of sealing up a gap between the actuating pin and the through hole, is provided at an inner face side of the ceiling wall part.

Actuator with actuating pin

An actuator which has an operating pin of the invention includes a piston which has an operating pin, a squib, and a cylinder case for holding the piston, in which the piston is moved rearward along with the operating pin by a driving gas generated injected from the squib into the cylinder case. A cap portion for covering the side of the squib with a gas injection port comprises a cylindrical side portion and a front end wall portion, and the operating pin is projected from the center of this front end wall portion. The cap portion is arranged with injection holes through which the driving gas is injected. Forward movement of the piston before the actuator is operated is restricted by the front end wall portion of the cylinder case coming into contact with the ceiling wall portion of the cylinder case.

Growing community of inventors

Kiyosu, Japan

Naohiko Ishiguro