Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.

Takeshi Ando

Takanori Komatsu

Tetsuya Ogata

Ryotaro Ishida

Michiyasu Ito

Yoshinori Nonoyama

Hiroki Imaeda

Hiroki Murase

A knee protecting air bag system includes an air bag, folded to be housed in a housing portion on a lower side of a body side member in front of a seated occupant. The air bag includes thickness controlling tethers that are provided so as to connect an occupant side wall portion and a body side wall portion when the air bag inflates completely. The thickness controlling tethers include an upper tether and a lower tether that are provided to extend into a belt-like shape along a left-to-right direction in upper and lower positions in the lower inflating portion when the air bag inflates completely. An abutment portion is formed between a portion where the upper tether is connected to the body side wall portion and a portion where the lower tether is connected to the body side wall portion.

Knee protecting air bag system

An airbag of a knee-protecting airbag device is mounted on a case together with an inflator with the aid of mounting means of the inflator. The case is provided with an airbag emergence opening at the lower end region. The airbag includes a vehicle body side panel, an occupant side panel, a mounting inflatable region which is located in a lower end region of the airbag as deployed and is secured to the case, and a knee-protecting region deployable in such a manner as to extend rearwardly and upwardly from the mounting inflatable region. The airbag further includes inside the mounting inflatable region a tether which joins the vehicle body side panel and occupant side panel for regulating a clearance between the vehicle body side panel and occupant side panel at airbag deployment.

Knee-protecting airbag device

A lower limb protecting air bag includes: a main body inflation part; an end side inflation part; a bending part configured to bend the end side inflation part to project backward from the main body inflation part in inflation completion; and a connecting element configured to connect together the end side inflation part and the main body inflation part so that the bent state of the end side inflation part in inflation completion is maintained, wherein: the main body inflation part and the end side inflation part are configured to inflate substantially in a plate shape to separate a front side wall disposed on the back side and a back side wall disposed on the front side when the air bag is developed flat; and the bending part includes a seam part formed by superimposing and connecting together the front side wall and the back side wall.

Lower limb protecting air bag

A knee protection airbag apparatus includes an airbag and a front panel. The front panel includes a lower panel portion and an upper panel portion. When the airbag inflates, the airbag causes the upper panel portion to move to the front, and deploys in a space on a rear surface-side of the moving upper panel portion. The upper panel portion includes a general portion of an upper portion and a ceiling wall portion of a lower portion. The lower panel portion is separate from the upper panel portion, and covers a rear side of the folded airbag. The upper panel portion includes a pressure receiving portion facing the folded airbag. The upper panel portion has the vicinity of the fixation portion of the general portion as a bending deformation portion that bends when the upper panel portion moves to the front along with the inflation of the airbag.

Knee protection airbag apparatus

A wrapping sheet is to be torn by the inflation of an air bag. Since attachment shafts, used to hold the folded air bag in position, are projected from the air bag, an engagement portion of the wrapping sheet is fitted on the attachment shafts, and the shape of a folding completed body of the air bag is maintained. The wrapping sheet includes not only the engagement portion, but also a coupled portion to be connected to the air bag, and a folding form control portion, which has an auxiliary engagement portion to be fitted on the attachment shafts. When the auxiliary engagement portion is fitted on the attachment shafts, the shape of the air bag that is being folded is adjusted.

Growing community of inventors

Kiyosu, Japan

Takeshi Ando