Autoliv Asp, Incorporated

Makioka, Takayuki

Wang, Xiaohong

Paranjpe, Avadhoot

Xiaohong Wang

Takayuki Makioka

Paul Douglas Hicken

Avadhoot Paranjpe

Bryan Walston

Arthur Yakumo

Hiroki Sasakura

Hideaki Tanaka

Jeffrey Daniel Williams

Changsoo Choi

Atsushi Yamada

Hongseok Kim

Leron DuWayne Lechtenberg

An airbag assembly for a motor vehicle includes an inflatable airbag, a tether, and at least one guide member. The tether controls deployment of the inflatable airbag. The tether has a fixed length between a first end and a second end. The at least one guide member slidably receives the tether such that the tether has a first adjustable length portion between the first end and the at least one guide member and the tether has a second adjustable length portion between the second end and the at least one guide member.

Curtain airbag assembly

Airbag assemblies are disclosed that can reduce rotational velocity of an occupant's head during a collision event and thereby mitigate traumatic brain injury/head injury to an occupant. An airbag includes a pair of lobes or protrusions to deploy and extend from the rear face of the airbag on either side of the occupant's head to limit rotation of the head. A pair of vertical tethers within an interior of the airbag configure the lobes and contour the rear face to form one or more low fabric tension zones or bubbles. The lobes maintain high fabric tension, similar to a pressurization of a main inflatable chamber of the airbag.

Frontal airbag assemblies for reducing rotational velocity of a head of an occupant

An airbag assembly may include an inflatable curtain airbag with a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. The inflatable curtain may have a first chamber and a second chamber that inflates forward of the first chamber. The second chamber may have a height above the height of the first chamber so that a bottom of the second chamber is pressed downward adjacent to a door of the vehicle. A plurality of airbag assembly components may be integrally formed with a non-inflating peripheral region surrounding the first and second chambers. Such components may include a front or rear tether cut from the front or rear of the non-inflating peripheral region, a top tether cut from the top of the non-inflating peripheral region to control deployment of the second chamber, and a fabric shield cut from the top to at least partially wrap around the stowed inflatable curtain airbag.

Cost-effective use of one-piece woven fabric for curtain airbags

An airbag cushion having a main airbag cushion panel that includes a pair of major body fabric portions continuously formed together with a pair of inner valve fabric portions extending therebetween. The pair of inner valve fabric portions are foldable to form an inner valve for at least in part containing an inflation gas supplying inflator device. The pair of major body fabric portions are joinable together at a peripheral joint portion to at least in part form an airbag cushion body. The airbag cushion body has or forms an interior to receive inflation gas and is deployable on a side of an occupant seated in a vehicle seat. Also provided are corresponding or associated methods of or for manufacturing a side airbag cushion.

Side airbag cushion and method of manufacture

Gas guides or airbag assemblies including gas guides are disclosed. The gas guides can direct inflation gas within an inflatable cushion. The gas guides can include a forward opening that delivers inflation gas to a forward portion of an inflatable cushion and a rearward opening that delivers inflation gas to a rearward portion of an inflatable cushion. The gas guides can further include a downward opening that delivers inflation gas downward to a lower portion of an inflatable cushion. The area of the downward opening can be greater than the areas of the forward opening or the rearward opening such that a greater portion of the inflation gas is directed downward into the inflatable cushion.

Three-way gas guide

An inflatable airbag system can be configured to be mounted to a frontal region of a vehicle. The inflatable airbag system includes an airbag and a positioning member, and is configured to deploy in various configurations in response to frontal and oblique collision events. The positioning member can include a tether or an inflatable member.

Frontal airbag systems and uses thereof

An airbag assembly may include an inflatable curtain airbag with a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. The inflatable curtain may have a first chamber and a second chamber that inflates forward of the first chamber. The second chamber may be separated from the first chamber by a non-inflating region. The non-inflating region may have a width selected such that in-plane bending of the inflatable curtain occurs during deployment. The in-plane bending may position the second chamber lower than the first chamber such that the second chamber overlaps a significant portion of a door adjacent to the inflatable curtain. Forward and rearward portions of the non-inflating region may be attached together to form a fold that decreases the width of the non-inflating region, thereby enhancing the in-plane bending. The second chamber may also bend out-of-plane relative to the first chamber to help provide protection in small overlap collision situations.

Wrap around side impact airbag systems and methods

An airbag assembly may include an inflatable curtain airbag with a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. The inflatable curtain may have a first protection zone and a second protection zone that inflates forward of the first protection zone to provide enhanced protection. The second protection zone may be folded against the first protection zone so that, during deployment, the second protection zone pivots to unfold relative to the first protection zone. The airbag assembly may have a forward tether that provides longitudinal tension on the inflatable curtain airbag. The forward tether may be secured to the A-pillar of the vehicle and to a divider between the first and second protection zones so that deformation of the A-pillar may relieve the tension to allow the second protection zone to pivot inboard to provide protection from injuries that may be sustained in a small overlap or oblique collision.

Fold over design for small overlap

An airbag assembly may include an inflatable curtain airbag with a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. The inflatable curtain may have a first protection zone and a second protection zone that inflates forward of the first protection zone to provide enhanced protection. The second protection zone may be double-folded against the first protection zone so that, during deployment, the second protection zone pivots to unfold relative to the first protection zone. The airbag assembly may have a restraint member in the form of a forward tether or a first tether secured to the forward tether such that the restraint member exerts outboard force on the second protection zone during deployment to help control deployment of the second protection zone. Portions of the first and second protection zones may be fold-over sewn together to control the angle at which the second protection zone unfolds relative to the first protection zone.

Curtain airbag for small overlap

An airbag assembly may include an airbag cushion that can be deployed to cover a portion of the dashboard of a vehicle adjacent another portion of the dashboard that is covered by a deployed front airbag. In some embodiments, airbag cushions may be housed beneath a seating surface of an occupant and deploy inboard of the housing to cover a portion of the dashboard. Such airbags may provide increased protection to front seat occupants who move in an oblique direction, both forward and inboard, during a collision event.

Center airbag

An airbag assembly may include an inflatable curtain airbag with a stowed configuration and a deployed configuration. The inflatable curtain may have a first protection zone and a second protection zone that inflates forward of the first protection zone to provide enhanced protection. The second protection zone may be folded against the first protection zone so that, during deployment, the second protection zone pivots to unfold relative to the first protection zone. The airbag assembly may have a restraint member that limits the ability of the second protection zone to unfold to a configuration parallel to the first protection zone, thereby keeping the second protection zone at an optimal location to protect the vehicle occupant from rollover and/or small overlap or oblique collisions. The restraint member may be a tether with ends secured proximate the top of the second protection zone and the top of the first protection zone.

Growing community of inventors

Roy, UT, United States of America

Xiaohong Wang