Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2000-12-13
2002-05-14
Mai, Lanna (Department: 3619)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S730200, C280S737000, C701S045000, C180S282000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06386581
ABSTRACT:
INCORPORATION BY REFERENCE
The disclosure of Japanese Patent Application No. 11-353528 filed on Dec. 13, 1999 including the specification, drawings and abstract is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates to controlling deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection air-bag device. More particularly, the invention relates to controlling deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection air-bag device including a side-impact sensor and a rollover sensor in which the air-bag body is deployed and inflated like a curtain along the side of the vehicle compartment.
2. Description of Related Art
In order to improve the capability of protecting the head of an occupant seated in the front seat against a predetermined high load applied to the side of the vehicle body, there has been proposed a head-protection air-bag device having an air-bag body stored in a folded state along the roof side rail. In this head-protection air-bag device, the air-bag body inflates like a curtain along the side window glass. Hereinafter, the structure of the aforementioned head-protection air-bag device disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,270 will be described.
As shown in
FIG. 10
, this head-protection air-bag device
100
is mainly composed of an elongate duct
106
extending from a front pillar portion
102
along a roof side rail portion
104
, an air-bag body
112
stored in the folded state within the duct
106
and fixed to the vehicle body at a front-end fixing point
108
and a rear-end fixing point
110
, an inflator
116
connected to the rear end of the duct
106
through a hose
114
, for injecting a gas in response to a predetermined high load applied to the side of the vehicle body, and a band-shaped strap
118
having its one end fixed to the vehicle body and the other end fixed to the rear end of the air-bag body
112
. The air-bag body
112
is formed by a plurality of substantially cylindrical cells
120
connected to each other with their longitudinal axes being oriented approximately in the vertical direction of the vehicle.
The aforementioned structure causes the gas to be injected from the inflator
116
when the predetermined high load is applied to the side of the vehicle body. The injected gas flows in each cell
120
of the folded air-bag body
112
through the hose
114
and the duct
106
. As a result, each cell
120
inflates into a substantially cylindrical shape along the longitudinal axis of the vehicle. Thus, the air-bag body
112
inflates like a curtain along a window glass
122
. Moreover, the rear end of the air-bag body
112
is connected to the vehicle body through the strap
118
so as to be reliably located inside the top portion of a B-pillar (i.e., a center pillar) portion
124
.
However, in such a head-protection air-bag device, the air-bag body
112
must be instantaneously deployed and inflated upon lateral collision (side collision) of the vehicle. Therefore, in the early stage of the deployment, the air-bag body
112
is subjected to a high gas-pressure as well as the inflation force of the air-bag body itself. Accordingly, the air-bag body
112
may be damaged to cause gas leakage, and an internal-pressure retention time may be reduced. As a result, in case of rollover of the vehicle that requires a long internal-pressure retention time, the thickness of a sealant applied to the surface of the air-bag body and the weaving density of the bag must be increased in order to prevent the damage to the air-bag body. However, this results in a bulky air-bag body in the folded state, thus requiring a larger storage space.
Therefore, a need exists for controlling deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection airbag device, in which the internal-pressure retention time can be increased in the case of rollover without increasing the bulk of the airbag body in the folded state.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention controls deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection air-bag device, in which the internal-pressure retention time can be increased in the case of the rollover without increasing the bulk of the air-bag body in the folded state.
In a method for controlling deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection air-bag device provided with a side-impact sensor and a rollover sensor according to a first aspect of the invention, the air-bag body is deployed and inflated like a curtain along a side of a vehicle compartment by a gas injected from an inflator that is actuated in response to a detection signal output from the respective sensors. The method includes the steps of injecting high pressure gas from the inflator when the side-impact sensor detects side collision, and injecting low pressure gas from the inflator when the rollover sensor detects rollover.
Accordingly, when the side-impact sensor detects side collision, the inflator is actuated such that the high pressure injected gas flows into the air-bag body. As a result, the air-bag body is instantaneously deployed and inflated to protect the head of the occupant. When the rollover sensor detects rollover of the vehicle, the inflator is actuated such that the low pressure injected gas flows into the air-bag body. As a result, in the case of the rollover, the damage to the air-bag body due to the gas pressure can be reduced, and therefore, gas leakage resulting from the damage can be reduced. This may increase the internal-pressure retention time, whereby movement of the air-bag body toward the outside of the vehicle while constraining the occupant (in the deployed state) can be regulated for a longer time. Moreover, it is no longer necessary to increase the thickness of the sealant applied to the surface of the air-bag body and the weaving density of the bag in case of the rollover. Therefore, the bulk of the air-bag body in the folded state is not increased, and a large storage space, thus, is not necessary. Moreover, in the case of the rollover, the air-bag body is deployed at a low expansion pressure. Therefore, the damage to the interior parts such as garnish and assist grip can be reduced, allowing reduction in the repair cost.
In a method for controlling deployment of an air-bag body of a head-protection air-bag device provided with a side-impact sensor and a rollover sensor according to the second aspect of the invention, the air-bag body is deployed and inflated like a curtain along a side of a vehicle compartment by a gas injected from an inflator that is actuated in response to a detection signal output from the respective sensors. The method includes the steps of reducing a time for an internal pressure of the air-bag body to reach a peak value by the injected gas from the inflator when the side-impact sensor detects side collision; and increasing a time for an internal pressure of the air-bag body to reach a peak value by the injected gas from the inflator when the rollover sensor detects rollover.
Accordingly, when the side-impact sensor detects side collision, the inflator is actuated, and the internal pressure of the air-bag body quickly reaches the peak value. As a result, the air-bag body is instantaneously deployed and inflated, protecting the head of the occupant. When the rollover sensor detects rollover of the vehicle, the inflator is actuated, and the internal pressure of the air-bag body reaches the peak value, taking a longer time than that taken by the side collision case. As a result, in the case of the rollover, the damage to the air-bag body due to the rapid increase in the internal pressure can be reduced, and therefore, gas leakage resulting from the damage can be reduced. Accordingly, the internal-pressure retention time is increased, whereby the movement of the air-bag body toward the outside of the vehicle while constraining the occupant (in the deployed state) can be regulated for a longer time. Moreover, it is no longer necessary to increase the thickness of the sealant applied to the surface of the air-bag body and the weaving density of the bag, in case of the rol
Ilan Ruth
Mai Lanna
Pillsbury & Winthrop
LandOfFree
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