Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1999-08-31
2002-04-16
Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S735000, C701S049000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06371513
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The entire disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. Hei 10-261426 filed on Sep. 16, 1998 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant from an impact at the time of a crash of a vehicle and, more particularly, to a side airbag apparatus for protecting an occupant from an impact exerted sideways relative to a vehicle body.
2. Description of the Related Art
Airbag apparatuses that deploy an airbag to protect an occupant at the time of a vehicle crash are in widespread use.
However, such an airbag apparatus may fail to sufficiently protect an occupant depending on the posture or state of the occupant. For example, a front impact airbag apparatus that deploys an airbag into a space between an occupant and an instrument panel to protect the occupant may fail sufficient protect if there is insufficient space to deploy the airbag or if there is insufficient time to deploy the airbag because the occupant is at a position too near the instrument panel, e.g., when the occupant is sitting on a front edge portion of the seat.
Recently, many motor vehicles have been equipped with airbag apparatuses for seats other than the driver's seat, for example, a passenger-side front seat. Since it is difficult to restore a once-deployed airbag to a state that the airbag can be used again, it is desirable that an airbag apparatus for a passenger-side front seat or the like be controlled so that the airbag will be deployed only when there is an occupant in the passenger-side front seat or the like.
It is advantageous to be able to control the operation of the airbag apparatus in accordance with the presence or absence of an occupant, the sitting posture of an occupant, and the like. Various apparatuses as described below have recently been proposed and put into practical use.
For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 7-285364 describes an apparatus that detects whether an occupant is sitting at a non-appropriate position prescribed for the airbag, for example, at a front edge portion of the seat, by using pressure sensors disposed in a front portion and a rear portion of the seat cushion. Upon detecting that an occupant is out of the prescribed sit position, the apparatus warns the occupant. The apparatus is also able to prevent the starting operation of the airbag if the occupant is out of the prescribed position.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 7-270541 describes an apparatus capable of detecting the presence or absence of an occupant of a seat by using a sensor that detects a permittivity change of a dielectric member disposed in a seat cushion, although the apparatus is not specifically designed for an airbag.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. HEI 8-268220 describes an apparatus that detects whether an occupant of a seat is present or whether an occupant is in such a posture that the occupant is close to the instrument panel, by using an ultrasonic sensor disposed in a compartment ceiling or the like. The apparatus changes the mode of operation of the airbag in accordance with the result of detection.
The aforementioned apparatuses make it possible to appropriately control the operation of the airbag in accordance with the presence or absence of an occupant or the sitting posture of an occupant at the time of an impact to a front portion of the vehicle, that is, a frontal collision.
Besides the above-described airbag apparatuses, side airbag apparatuses for protecting an occupant at the time of an impact to a side of a vehicle body, that is, a side collision, have been proposed and used. A typical side airbag apparatus deploys a side-impact airbag (side airbag) into a space between an occupant and a side portion of the vehicle body at the time of a side collision so as to protect the occupant, more specifically, side portions of the occupant's body, from an impact caused by the side collision or a compression caused by deformation of the vehicle body. Such a side airbag apparatus is normally disposed in a side portion of a seatback, a vehicle door, or the like.
The side airbag apparatuses may also fail to achieve a sufficient protecting effect depending on the sitting posture of an occupant. For example, if a side airbag is deployed when a relatively small person, for example, a child, is leaning against a side body portion of the vehicle, the protecting effect is remarkably reduced as described below.
FIGS. 11 through 14
illustrate relationships between the sitting posture of an occupant and a side airbag deployed at the time of a side collision.
FIG. 11
shows an average-built occupant P
1
sitting in a proper posture.
FIG. 12
illustrates an average-built occupant P
1
leaning against a side vehicle body portion (door D).
FIG. 13
illustrates a small-built occupant P
2
, for example, a child or the like, sitting in a proper posture.
FIG. 14
illustrates a small-built occupant P
2
leaning against a side vehicle body portion (door D).
If the average-built occupant P
1
is sitting in a seat S in the proper sitting posture as shown in
FIG. 11
, the side airbag is deployed into a space A between a side portion of the trunk of the average-built occupant P
1
and the door D. The side airbag is also deployed into the space A between the door D and a side portion of the trunk of the small-built occupant P
2
, for example, a child, if the small-built occupant P
2
is sitting in the proper sitting posture as shown in FIG.
13
. In these cases, a sufficiently high effect of the side airbag protecting the occupant P
1
, P
2
from the impact at the time of a side collision or compression caused by deformation of vehicle body or the like is achieved.
If the average-built occupant P
1
of the seat A is leaning against the door D, an arm or the trunk of the occupant P
1
is located in the space A for deployment of the side airbag. Therefore, proper deployment of the side airbag is impeded, so that the occupant protecting effect may not be sufficiently achieved. However, even if the trunk or an arm of the average-built occupant P
1
is located in the space A, the side airbag can be deployed so as to substantially achieve its protecting effect provided that there is a certain space between an upper trunk portion of the average-built occupant P
1
and the door D.
If the small-built occupant P
2
, for example, a child or the like, sitting in the seat A is leaning against the door D as shown in
FIG. 14
, the head of the occupant P
2
is located in the space A for deployment of the side airbag. In this case, too, there is a danger that the proper deployment of the side airbag will be impeded. Even if the side airbag is deployed, the side airbag, which is designed to be deployed to protect an occupant's trunk portion, is deployed between the head of the small-built occupant P
2
and the door D. Therefore, if the small-built occupant P
2
in the seat A is leaning against the door D, the occupant protecting effect of the side airbag is remarkably reduced.
The above-described apparatuses, which detect the sitting posture of an occupant at the time of a frontal collision and controls the frontal impact airbag in accordance with the result of detection, are not designed taking the operation of a side airbag into consideration. Moreover, the aforementioned apparatuses are not able to detect whether an occupant of a seat is leaning against a side vehicle body portion. Therefore, the apparatuses are not able to properly control the operation of a side airbag in accordance with the occupant sitting posture or situations as described above.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly, the present invention provides a side airbag apparatus having controllable modes of operation, the modes of operation being controlled in accordance with the presence or absence of an occupant of a seat or the sitting posture of an occupant.
In accordance with one aspect of
Fujimoto Osamu
Hamada Makoto
Johnson Brian L.
Luby Matthew
Pillsbury & Winthrop LLP
Toyota Jidosha & Kabushiki Kaisha
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