Mazda Motor Corporation

Yasunori Iwamoto

Isao Hirashima

Masafumi Sakakida

Toshiyuki Manabe

Haruhiro Inada

Hisao Muramoto

Shigefumi Kohno

Kazuhiro Ushijima

Toru Iriyama

Masahiro Matsunaga

Shigeru Kimura

Keiichirou Shibata

Toshiaki Kuroda

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

An air bag mount structure for mounting an air bag unit which is disposed behind an instrument panel for absorbing a shock against a passenger seated in a front seat of a vehicle includes a hinge pillar arranged in a front body structure of the vehicle for supporting a door unit through a hinge device. A support device mounts the air bag unit thereon. The support device is mounted on the hinge pillar at one end portion and on either the hinge pillar or a floor panel at the other end. Stability can be improved in supporting the air bag unit so that a reliability of the air bag system can be obtained in operation.

Air bag mount structure for vehicle

A safety apparatus is installed in a vehicle provided with an air bag system having an air bag which is housed, when empty, in a container in front of a driver's seat. The air bag is inflated to protect the driver during a collision. The safety apparatus is provided with an impact diminishing mechanism for preventing a shoulder belt from being increasingly tensioned by the body of the driver any time before the inflated air bag acts on the driver with a maximum impact.

Safety apparatus including an air bag and a safety belt supported on a

An air bag system includes an instrument panel provided with an opening in the vicinity of a passenger's seat. An air bag unit is disposed in the opening and provided with an air bag and a casing for receiving the air bag, and a lid device is disposed at a rear end of the casing for covering the opening. At least a pair of belt members, spaced transversely and in a mirror image relationship with regard to a vertical center line for connecting the lid device with the instrument panel, are provided. One end of the belt member is mounted on the lid device at a position offset from a transverse center line of the lid device. When the air bag inflated, the lid device is swung about a transverse axis so as to be opened smoothly.

Air bag system for vehicle

An apparatus and method for installing an air bag module for an air bag system equipped in an automotive vehicle for preventing injuries to passengers in a passenger compartment of the automotive vehicle. The system includes an air bag module located to face a passenger in the passenger compartment, a controller mounted to the body of the automotive vehicle for controlling the air bag module and an electrical harness wire for transmitting signals for controlling the module. This harness wire is connected at one end to the air bag module and at the other end to the controller. A flexible temporary holding band for connecting the air bag module is detachably mounted on a hook provided in the passenger compartment. The length of the temporary holding band is determined to be short enough so that the harness wire is still loose even when the temporary holding band is put under strain.

Air bag structure for an automotive vehicle

An air bag system includes an air bag unit having an air bag to be inflated, an inflator for generating a gas for the air bag and a casing for receiving the air bag in a folded state in a normal condition. An instrument panel provides a space in which the air bag unit is disposed, a dash upper panel is disposed in front of the air bag unit in a longitudinal direction of the vehicle, and a protective structure or device prevents the dash upper panel from interfering with a proper operation of the air bag unit. A proper operation of the air bag system can, therefore, be successfully maintained.

Growing community of inventors

Hiroshima, Japan

Yasunori Iwamoto