Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-03-29
2002-04-30
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3619)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S728200, C280S743100, C280S743200, C280S296000, C280S146000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06378896
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the invention
The present invention relates to a side air bag apparatus for a vehicle, in particular, to a side air bag configured to allow an air bag unit equipped in a side door to reliably expand between an occupant and a side door during a side impact collision.
2. Prior Art
Heretofore, a side air bag apparatus for a vehicle has been configured as an air bag unit including a side air bag and an inflator providing a gas for expansion to this side air bag. In this side air bag apparatus, when a side impact (i.e. an collision from lateral direction) is detected by a side impact sensor, the gas for expansion generated from the inflator is provided to the side air bag, and the side air bag is then expanded between an occupant and the side door within an instantaneous term before an occupant secondarily collides against a side door due to the side impact, thereby the occupant is stopped by the expanded side air bag and be protected.
Up to now, a door mounted type side air bag apparatus in which an air bag unit is mounted inside a side door is variously offered for practical use. For example, in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-58246, a side air bag apparatus is disclosed which has, in internal of a door, an inflator located inside an armrest, and a side air bag located above the inflator and between an door inner panel and a trim. The inflator and the side air bag are airtightly connected to each other through a duct.
A side door of a vehicle has an outer panel and an inner panel. A door trim is located on an inner surface of the side door faced to a vehicle occupant compartment. An opening is also formed on the inner panel for preventing interference between the inner panel and other components and also for attaching components inside the side door. An impact bar, which is excellent in strength and stiffness, is provided near an inner surface of the outer panel. In a recent side air bag, a cushion member made up of foam for shock-absorbing is also provided therein.
In door mounted type side air bag apparatuses, when a side door is deformed by applying an impact load to the side door during a side impact collision, a side air bag may not normally function to expand due to the fact that an inflator can be at fault, or a gas passage portion providing a gas for expansion from the inflator to the side air bag can be broken.
Otherwise, there is the possibility that the side air bag cannot accurately be expanded between an occupant and the side door due to the fact that orientation of the side air bag can be changed by the deformation of the side door.
Thus, in consideration of deformation of the side door during a side impact collision and also a required side door structure, it needs to set up a structure for protecting a portion containing the inflator and a gas passage forming portion, and for attaching the air bag unit to the inner panel with plural attaching portions. Sufficient measures have not been taken to solve the problems described above in the aforementioned side air bag apparatus of Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No. 5-58246.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is, in a side air bag apparatus for vehicle mounted in a side door, to prevent damage of a side air bag unit during a side impact collision, to reliably expand a side air bag between an occupant and the side door, and to simplify a structure for attaching the air bag unit to the side door.
According to a first aspect of the present invention, a side air bag apparatus for a vehicle comprises:
a single air bag unit mounted in a side door including;
a side air bag expanded between an occupant and the side door when a side impact detector of a vehicle detects a side impact; and
an inflator providing a gas for expansion to this side air bag, the side air bag and the inflator being respectively contained in an upper portion and a lower portion of the air bag unit.
An upper attachment and lower attachment secure the air bag unit to an inner panel of the side door, wherein the air bag unit is configured to allow a lower portion of the air bag unit to swingably displace in a larger amount than an upper portion of the air bag unit during a side impact collision by providing at least one of a difference in distance between an input position of a side impact load and each attachment or a difference in the respective attaching strengths of each attachment to the inner panel.
When a side impact is detected by a side impact sensor, the gas for. expansion generated from the inflator is provided to the side air bag, and the side air bag is then expanded from the upper portion of the air bag unit toward a vehicle occupant compartment and is finally expanded between an occupant and the side door within an instantaneous term before an occupant secondarily collides against a side door due to the side impact, thereby the occupant is stopped by the expanded side air bag and is protected.
Since the inflator is contained in the lower portion of air bag unit and the side air bag is contained in the upper portion of air bag unit, and the lower portion of the air bag unit is swingably displaced in a larger amount than the upper portion of the air bag unit during a side impact collision, damage to the inflator and a gas passage portion extending from the inflator to the side air bag during a side impact collision are reliably prevented, thereby the side air bag can reliably be expanded during a side impact collision.
The aforementioned air bag unit is secured to the inner panel of the side door by the upper attachment and the lower attachment. In addition, by providing at least one of a difference in distance between an input position of a side impact load and each attachment or a difference in respective attaching strengths of each attachment to the inner panel, the lower portion of the air bag unit is swingably displaced in a larger amount than the upper portion of the air bag unit during a side impact collision.
On this account, of providing at least one of a difference in distance between an input position of a side impact load and each attachment or a difference in respective attaching strengths of each attachment to the inner panel, the air bag unit is configured to allow a lower portion of the air bag unit to swingably displace in larger amount than an upper portion of the air bag unit during a side impact collision. In typical side impact collisions, since the side impact load is transferred through the outer panel, the impact bar, the inner panel, and so on, the input position of the side impact load to the air bag unit is a position of the air bag unit with respect to the impact bar.
When a side impact load acts on the lower attachment more than to the upper attachment by the difference in distance between an input position of a side impact load and each attachment, the lower attaching means is swingably displaced toward the vehicle occupant compartment in a larger amount than the upper attachment. When the displacement of the lower attachment toward the vehicle occupant compartment becomes lager than the displacement of the upper attachment toward the vehicle occupant compartment by the difference in respective attaching strengths of each attachment, the lower attaching means is swingably displaced toward the vehicle occupant compartment in larger amount than the upper attachment.
According to a second aspect of the present invention, a side air bag apparatus for a vehicle comprises:
a single air bag unit mounted in a side door including;
a side air bag expanded between an occupant and the side door when a side impact detector of a vehicle detects a side impact; and
an inflator providing a gas for expansion to this side air bag, the side air bag and the inflator being respectively contained in an upper portion and a lower portion of the air bag unit.
An upper attachment and lower attachment secure the air bag unit to an inner panel of the side door, wherein the air bag unit is configured to move substantially in parallel toward a vehicle occupant co
Nishiguchi Sadamu
Nobumoto Shouji
Sakakida Masafumi
Tanaka Hideaki
Ilan Ruth
Mai Lanna
Mazda Motor Corporation
Nixon & Peabody LLP
Studebaker Donald R.
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