Mazda Motor Corporation

Mazda Motor Corrporation

Shigefumi Kohno

Isao Hirashima

Hisao Muramoto

Haruhisa Kore

Masatoshi Takayama

Tomoo Taguchi

Haruhiro Inada

Yasuo Gotomyo

Hiroshi Nakatsuka

Yoshinobu Nomura

Takeshi Konishi

Satoshi Kubota

Yasukazu Watanabe

Yasunori Iwamoto

Yoshio Oda

Seiichi Asoh

Tetsuya Umeki

Fumiyuki Otani

Hiroshi Maeta

Tomonori Otsubo

Katsuaki Sasaki

Yoshihiro Konno

Kajuhiro Ushijima

Yoshinbu Nomura

Fumiyuki Murakami

Toshiaki Kuroda

Hitoki Fukuda

A vehicle air bag apparatus which includes an air bag module having an air bag, an inflator for filling the air bag with gas and an ignitor for driving the inflator. The vehicle air bag apparatus is supported inside of an opening formed in an instrument panel of a vehicle. The vehicle air bag apparatus also includes an air bag lid for closing the opening during non-operating status of the vehicle air bag apparatus, a hinge member for supporting the air bag lid openably and closeably in correspondence to the opening in the instrument panel, and a projection member formed integrally with the rear surface of the air bag lid. The projection member extends toward, and is fixed to, the air bag module. The projection member holds the air bag lid so as to close the opening and reinforces the air bag lid from the rear surface. The projection member includes portions of lower ridigity in which rigidity of a part furthest from the hinge member is the lowest. Upon expansion of the air bag, the portions of lower rigidity break so that the air bag lid no longer acts to close the opening in the instrument panel.

Vehicle air bag apparatus

The head rest is detachably mounted to the seat back of the front seat and the air bag unit with an air bag mounted therein is mounted to the head rest. The air bag is expanded toward the passenger seated on the rear seat in response to an explosion signal from the control unit into which signals are entered from impact sensors. The air bag is so disposed as to expand only when the passenger is seated on the rear seat. The posture and position of the air bag unit is adjusted in association with the movement or displacement of the front seat to which the air bag is mounted, thereby improving the ability of the expanded air bag to confine the passenger seated on the rear seat and protecting the passenger in a more safe fashion. Further, the air bag unit is mounted to the head rest of the front seat, so that the air bag can be exchanged with ease and at cheap costs without exchanging the front seat itself.

Air bag system for an automotive vehicle

A safety air bag apparatus is disposed behind an instrument panel having an instrument panel opening which is inclined with respect to a direction of air bag expansion relative to an opening of an air bag container. The safety air bag apparatus has a lid which covers the instrument panel opening so as to be flush with the instrument panel and to have an outer surface with a profile matching an outer profile of the instrument panel. The lid opens upwards to uncover the instrument panel opening. The safety air bag apparatus is further provided with a control device which brings the air bag, during expansion, into contact with a lower portion of the lid no later than it is brought into contact with an upper portion of the lid.

Air bag apparatus for automotive vehicle

The front portion of a roof panel has left-hand and right-hand roof opening sections, each roof opening section being wide open without a roof side rail on its transversely outer side. A movable roof member is mounted on the roof opening sections so as to be movable longitudinally through a base frame fixed to the body of a vehicle, thereby opening the roof opening sections when the movable roof member is moved in its rear position and closing it when it is moved in its front position. The base frame contains a front section to be mounted to a front header of the body, a rear section to be mounted to a front edge portion of a rear roof panel section, a middle section for connecting middle portions of the front section and the rear section, and a guide section extending rearward from a transversely outer side portion of the rear section. The base frame is fixed to the body in such a state that the portions of the base frame or the body where the alignment position is likely to deviate from its normal position are aligned with an aligning jig or the movable roof member. Further, an alignment section or member is formed each on the body side and the base frame side so as to assume a normal positional relationship.

Method for the assembly of a sun roof of an automotive vehicle

The head rest is detachably mounted to the seat back of the front seat and the air bag unit with an air bag mounted therein is mounted to the head rest. The air bag is expanded toward the passenger seated on the rear seat in response to an explosion signal from the control unit into which signals are entered from impact sensors. The air bag is so disposed as to expand only when the passenger is seated on the rear seat. The posture and position of the air bag unit is adjusted in association with the movement or displacement of the front seat to which the air bag is mounted, thereby improving the ability of the expanded air bag to confine the passenger seated on the rear seat and protecting the passenger in a safer fashion. Further, the air bag unit is mounted to the head rest of the front seat, so that the air bag can be exchanged with ease and at a cheap cost without needing to exchange the front seat itself.

An air bag device for an automotive vehicle which comprises a reaction can disposed in a dashboard of the vehicle and a ring frame attached inside a portion of the reaction can. The air bag device also includes an air bag having a distal portion, a fixed portion disposed between the reaction can and the ring frame and a protruding portion which extends outside of the reaction can. The protruding portion has a stiffness greater than he distal portion of the air bag, whereby the distal portion of the air bag is substantially prevented from being disposed between the reaction can and the ring frame. A method for attaching the air bag to the reaction can is also disclosed.

Air bag device for an automotive vehicle

A seat belt device for fastening a passenger seated on a seat comprises a shoulder belt carried by a seat back. A support strap is fixed at one end to the seat back and extends rearwardly. An anchor member is mounted on a body member of the vehicle rearward of the seat back for carrying the support strap. A retractor is mounted on a body member for winding up and retracting the support strap. A lock mechanism is provided in the retractor for preventing the support means from being drawn out from the retractor when a horizontal acceleration acting on the retractor is greater than a predetermined value. The seat belt device is reliable in case of an emergency and provides improved visuality.

Front seat shoulder belt and seat back supporting structure

An air bag system includes an instrument panel provided with an opening in the vicinity of a passenger seat. An air bag unit, disposed in the opening is provided with an air bag and a casing for receiving the air bag. A cover member is provided on the instrument panel so as to cover the opening in such a manner that the cover member extends continuous to a surface of the instrument panel. A shelf portion is formed, on the instrument panel, to extend toward a passenger seated in the passenger seat. The cover member is provided with a weakened portion to be broken, with an upper portion thereof being opened upwardly and a lower portion thereof being opened downwardly, like a double door, when the air bag is inflated. The shelf portion is slightly extended beyond the lower portion of the cover member when the lower portion is opened. With this construction, a safe air bag system can be obtained with a compact structure.

Air bag system for vehicle

A steering system for a vehicle has a tilt mechanism for adjusting the height of a steering wheel. The steering wheel can be tilted through a larger angular range while the vehicle is parking but is inhibited from being tilted out of a smaller angular range included in the larger angular range while the vehicle is running.

Steering system for vehicle

A steering system for use in an automotive vehicle includes a steering shaft inclined at a fixed angle with respect to a vehicle body, an air bag module securely mounted on one end of the steering shaft, and a steering wheel pivotally connected to an intermediate portion of the steering shaft. The steering wheel can be tilted relative to the steering shaft.

Automobile steering system equipped with an air bag

A roof panel connected to the vehicle body through at least a pair of left-hand and right-hand front pillars and a pair of left-hand and right-hand rear pillars is provided with a wide open roof panel opening enclosed by a front header, a pair of left-hand and right-hand roof side rails and a rear header. To the pair of left-hand and right-hand rear pillars and the rear header is fixed a rear window glass panel. In order to close the roof panel opening, there is provided a flexible top foldable or windable. When the roof panel opening is in a closed state, a forward end portion of the flexible top is in abutment with said front header, its left-hand and right-hand side end portions are abutted with the left-hand and right-hand roof side rails, and its rearward end portion is in abutment with the rear header. The flexible top is displaceable along the roof side rails and the rear pillars. When the roof panel opening is in an open state, the flexible top is housed or accommodated in a folded or wound state at a position rearward of the rear window glass panel and nearby its lower end portion.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Shigefumi Kohno