Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-01-25
2004-11-23
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S743100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820893
ABSTRACT:
The present application is based on Japanese Patent Applications Nos. 2001-16893 and 2001-77111, which are incorporated herein by reference.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a head protection air bag device carried on a motor vehicle. More particularly, the invention relates to a head protection air bag device in which an air bag, while being folded, is stored along the upper fringe of an opening on the cabin-inside or indoor side of a vehicle, and when receiving inflation gas, the air bag develops and inflates to cover the opening.
2. Description of the Related Art
The air bag for the conventional head protection air bag device is provided with inflatable protective shielding parts which receive inflation gas and inflate to cover the openings on the cabin-inside side, as disclosed in international publication WO96/26087 and GB2314300.
The inflatable protective shielding part includes a plurality of inflation parts which are arranged in the vehicle longitudinal direction and vertically expandable so as to generate a tension in the vehicle longitudinal direction.
The air bag has a gas-inflow section through which inflation gas is introduced into the airbag, and a non gas-inflow section which rejects the inflow of the inflation gas. The non gas-inflow section includes a periphery part surrounding the gas-inflow section, and partitioning parts being vertically disposed and defining the inflation parts.
With such a structure, at the time of inflating operation, when each inflation part inflates, a distance between the partitioning parts located at the front and rear of each inflation part is reduced, and a distance between the periphery parts is also reduced. As a result, a tension having a longitudinal direction of the vehicle is generated in the inflatable protective shielding parts, so that the inflatable protective shielding parts are restrained from moving out of the car cabin at the time of restricting the passenger.
However, the conventional air bag needs improvement in the further increase of the tension generated in the lower fringe of the air bag.
In another conventional head protection air bag device, an air bag which is stored, while being folded, along the upper fringe of an opening on the cabin-inside or indoor side and on the side of seat recliners, and when receiving inflation gas, the air bag develops and inflates to cover the opening, as disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2000-335356.
In a case where the air bag is designed to have such a configuration at the completion of developing and inflating operations that its vertical dimension is large so as to cover the openings on the cabin-inside side, the following disadvantage arises. At the time of its developing/inflating operation, the air bag interferes with the seat recliner, particularly the upper end of the side surface of the seat recliner, whereby the developing/inflating operation is possibly hindered.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
An object of the present invention is to provide a head protection air bag device which is able to generate high tension having a longitudinal direction of the vehicle in the lower fringe side of the air bag at the completion of developing and inflating operations of the air bag.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a head protection air bag device which enables the air bag to be developed and inflated without any interference with the seat recliners, even in such a construction that the air bag broadly covers the openings on the cabin-inside side.
According to the present invention, there is provided a first head protection air bag device having an air bag which is stored, while being folded, along the upper fringe of an opening on the cabin-inside or indoor side of a vehicle, when receiving inflation gas, the air bag developing and inflating to cover the opening,
wherein the air bag includes a gas-inflow section which inflates so as to separate a cabin-inside side wall and a cabin-outside side wall one from the other, and a non gas-inflow section which rejects inflation gas,
the gas-inflow section includes a plurality of inflatable protective shielding parts being disposed such that the inflatable protective shielding parts are longitudinally spaced from one another and cover the opening, and inflation communicating parts,
each inflatable protective shielding part includes a plurality of inflating parts which are arranged in the longitudinal direction and vertically expandable so as to generate a tension in the longitudinal direction,
the non gas-inflow section includes a periphery part surrounding the non gas-inflow section,
a plate-like portion disposed between the inflatable protective shielding parts, and partitioning parts being vertically disposed and defining the inflation parts in the inflatable protective shielding parts, the inflation communicating parts are disposed in the lower fringe side of the air bag under the plate-like portion and along the lower fringe of the air bag,
the inflatable protective shielding parts, which are adjacently located with the plate-like portion being interposed therebetween, are communicated with each other by the inflation communicating part, and
the lower ends of the inflation parts are closed at the lower-edge side parts of the periphery parts.
In the first head protection air bag device, it is preferable that one of the ends of the air bag is coupled to a body of the vehicle by coupling parts extending away from the gas-inflow section and the coupling parts are coupled to the lower-edge side part of the periphery parts at the completion of the developing and inflating operation.
In the first head protection air bag device, it is preferable that the inflatable protective shielding parts, which are adjacently located with the plate-like portion being interposed therebetween, include inflow ports allowing the inflation gas to flow thereinto which are located above the plate-like portion.
In the specification, the terms “the longitudinal direction” and “the vertical direction” mean respectively the “front and back direction” and the “upward and downward direction” of the vehicle with the head protection airbag device installed thereto.
In the first head protection air bag device, when inflation gas is made to flow into the air bag and the developing and inflating operation of the air bag is completed, the inflation parts partitioned by the partitioning parts in each inflatable protective shielding part generate a tension having a longitudinal direction in the inflatable protective shielding part per se. The inflatable protective shielding parts are interconnected by the inflation communicating parts in the lower fringe side of the air bag.
The inflation communicating parts are longitudinally disposed along the lower fringe of the air bag, and completes the inflation of the air bag. Therefore, the inflatable protective shielding parts are interconnected without reducing the tensions in those parts. As a result, a high tension having the longitudinal direction is generated in the entire lower fringe of the air bag.
The inflation parts are interconnected such that only those inflation parts adjacent to each other are merely interconnected by the inflation communicating part. The remaining inflation parts are closed at the lower edges of the periphery parts. Accordingly, even if the inflation communicating parts are provided, the tension having a longitudinal direction in the inflatable protective shielding part per se, which is generated by the inflation parts, is kept in a high level.
Accordingly, the head protection air bag device of the invention is capable of generating a high tension having the longitudinal direction of the vehicle in the lower fringe side of the air bag at the completion of developing and inflating the air bag.
Particularly in the lower side of the plate-like portion in the air bag, the inflation communicating part completes the inflating operation in a state that high tension having the longitudinal direction is generated in the lower edge
Takahashi Hiroyuki
Tanase Toshinori
Dickson Paul N.
Posz & Bethards, PLC
To Toan C
Toyoda Gosei Co,., Ltd.
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