Air bag apparatus

Details Air bag apparatus Air bag apparatus

1999-09-15

2001-03-06

Johnson, Brian L. (Department: 3618)

Land vehicles

Wheeled

Attachment

Reexamination Certificate

active

06196577

ABSTRACT:

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to an air bag apparatus in which an air bag, disposed in the inside of a seat back is inflated in a cabin upon a vehicle side collision thereby protecting a side portion of an occupant.
An air bag apparatus for protecting a side portion of an occupant in a car is disclosed, for example, in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 10-53086 or in Japanese Patent Unexamined Publication No. Hei. 3-108564. Generally, such an air bag apparatus is provided with an air bag module which has a folded air bag, an inflator, etc. A conventional air bag apparatus
200
will be described in brief with reference to FIG.
3
.
FIG. 3
is a schematic perspective view showing an air bag apparatus disposed in a seat back and a state in which the air bag is inflated.
The aforementioned air bag module
201
is received in a module casing
202
. The air bag module
201
is set up together with the module casing
202
in a seat back S
2
. When a car is run into at its side, that is, upon a side collision, a sensor detects this collision and a gas is generated by an inflator
201
a
thereby unfolding an air bag
204
so that an occupant is protected.
FIG. 1
is a sectional view taken along the line X—X in FIG.
3
and showing the inside of the module casing
202
. In the conventional air bag module
201
, the air bag
204
is set up as shown in FIG.
1
.
That is, the air bag
204
is folded stepwise, while alternately turning back at opposite ends was repeated to a forward end portion
204
b
after a holder
201
b
for holding the inflator
201
a
was enclosed in a base end portion
204
a.
When the air bag
204
is inflated, a propellant in the inflator
201
a
is ignited so that a gas is generated to be fed into the air bag
204
(see the arrows in FIG.
1
). As a result, the air bag
204
is inflated thereby forcing a cover portion
202
a
of the module casing
202
to open as indicated by the two-dot chain line in FIG.
1
. The air bag
204
is further inflated continuously so as to be inflated while rupturing a seam portion in the right portion of the seat back S
2
(see FIG.
3
).
FIG. 2
is a side view typically showing the inflating process of the air bag
104
.
FIG. 2A
shows an initial state of inflating;
FIG. 2B
shows a state after a predetermined time is passed from the start of inflating; and
FIG. 2C
shows a state after inflation is completed.
In the conventional air bag module
202
, the air bag
204
is folded alternately so that the opposite sides of the folded air bag
204
superimpose on one another completely. Therefore, it is inevitable that the air bag
204
must be inflated gradually from the base end portion
204
a
side. There is the possibility that inflating might be obstructed a little by a certain time lag with respect to the time required for gas to reach the forward end portion
204
b
of the air bag
204
, or obstructed by failure of the folds of the air bag
204
in the middle of inflating.
With respect to the inflating of the air bag
204
, it is very important that the air bag can be inflated rapidly to respond instantaneously to a car side collision. Accordingly, not only the inflating of the air bag
204
needs to be performed as rapidly as possible but also secure inflation of the air bag
204
needs to be attained.
In addition, such an air bag apparatus gives priority to the protection of the chest or head of an occupant. Accordingly, the air bag in the air bag apparatus is required to be inflated in a comparatively high position, such as the chest level, of the occupant. To unfold the bag in a comparatively high position, such as at the chest level of the occupant, To unfold the bag in a comparatively high position, such as at the chest level of the occupant, conceivably the module is received in a high position of the seat back.
A side portion of the seat back is, however, generally designed so as to be thinner higher up the seat back for the purpose of the occupant's comfort when riding. Accordingly, if the module is received in a high position of the side portion of the seat back, there is a disadvantage in spoiling the occupant's comfortable feeling when riding. Accordingly, the module is required to be received in a position as low as possible in the side portion of the seat back.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to inflate the air bag of the present invention more quickly and to prevent inflating failure from occurring.
In order to solve the above problem according to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air bag apparatus comprising an air bag folded and disposed in a seat back, the air bag being adapted to be inflated with a gas generated by an inflator thereby protecting an occupant, wherein, the air bag includes a pair of base cloth portions which superimpose on each other so as to be shaped like a bag, the pair of base cloth portions being formed so that, when the air bag is folded, the pair of base cloth portions are folded individually in the form of bellows so as to form a gas flow passage between the pair of base cloth portions.
By the aforementioned means, the gas generated by the inflator is made to reach the forward end portion of the air bag through the passage easily. Accordingly, not only inflation of the air bag is performed rapidly but also inflating failure is effectively prevented from occurring.
In addition to this, it is also an object of the present invention to make it possible to protect a comparatively high position, such as the chest portion, of an occupant, even in the case where a module is received in a low position of a side portion of a seat back so as not to spoil occupant's comfort when riding.
In order to solve the above problem, according to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided an air bag apparatus comprising an air bag, disposed in a side portion of a seat back, in a condition such that it is attached to a module and folded, the air bag being adapted to be inflated with a gas generated by an inflator so as to be inflated between an occupant and an inner surface of a side portion of a vehicle body in the event of a vehicle collision, wherein, the air bag includes a base end portion and a protective portion which are designed so that the base end portion is adapted to be inflated directly in an upward direction, more upward than a direction perpendicular to a longitudinal direction of the module, whereas the protective portion is adapted to be inflated forward.
According to the present invention, the module is received in a low position of the side portion of the seat back so that a comparatively high position, such as the chest, of the occupant can be protected securely without spoiling occupant's comfort when riding.


REFERENCES:
patent: 5709402 (1998-01-01), Leonard
patent: 5727812 (1998-03-01), Dykstra et al.
patent: 5848804 (1998-12-01), White, Jr. et al.
patent: 5857696 (1999-01-01), Inoue et al.
patent: 5863062 (1999-01-01), Harada et al.
patent: 5931491 (1999-08-01), Bosgeiter et al.
patent: 5992882 (1999-11-01), Ito et al.
patent: 180623 (1970-08-01), None

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