GB2353254A

GB2353254A - A protective bag for the head of a vehicle occupant

Info

Publication number: GB2353254A
Application number: GB0017408A
Authority: GB
Inventors: Ken Sato
Original assignee: Takata Corp
Current assignee: Takata Corp
Priority date: 1999-08-19
Filing date: 2000-07-14
Publication date: 2001-02-21
Anticipated expiration: 2020-07-14
Also published as: GB2353254B; JP2001055109A; DE10033949A1; GB2353254A8; GB0017408D0; DE20012116U1

Abstract

A bag (1) is formed by overlaying a sheet (2) on a sheet (3) so that a main gas passage (7) and small chambers (8a to 8h) are formed between both the sheets (2) and (3) by connecting them together in linear connecting portion thereof. The main gas passage (7) extends linearly from the lower end of a front-side portion (1F) of the bag (1) to the rear end of an upper-side portion (1U). The small chambers (8f) and (8g) intersect at an angle of 5 to 20{ with the main gas passage (7) running along the upper-side portion (1U). Other small chambers extend in parallel with the small chambers (8f) and (8g).

Description

2353254 - 1 PROTECTIVE BAG FOR HEAD OF AUTOMOBILE OCCUPANT, PROTECTIVE

DEVICE, AND AUTOMOBILE The present invention relates to a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant, specifically to an inflatable bag inflating along a side-door window, etc., in a side-on collision, sideways rolling, or the like, and more specifically, it relates to a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant of the type in which gas is introduced from a gas-introducing inlet into a main gas passage to be distributed therefrom to a plurality of small chambers. The present invention also relates to a protective device for the head of an occupant of an automobile having the protective bag and to an automobile having the protective device.

This type of protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant is disclosed in W096/26087 and is particularly shown in Figs. 1 and 9 of that Publication. The inside of this known bag comprises a duct portion (main gas passage) extending from one end of the bag in the front side of an automobile (the front end) to the other end thereof in the rear side of the automobile (the rear end) along the upper edge of the bag and numerous cell portions (small chambers) connecting to the duct portion to extend downwardly.

In the bag disclosed in WO096/26087, gas enters the inside of the duct portion from the automobile rear side of - 2 the duct portion so as to enter each cell portion by changing the direction substantially at an angle of 900, so that gas flowing resistance in the vicinity of each cell portion is great and an excessive stress is applied to this vicinity. The gas inflow rate is also small, so that the inflating rate of the bag is small.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant in which stress applied to each part thereof is small and which is rapidly inflatable as a whole, a protective device equipped with the bag, and an automobile equipped with the bag.

A protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant according to the present invention, which is arranged in the vicinity of the intersecting corner of a ceiling portion and a lateral face of the cabin of an automobile and which is inflatable downwardly by gas introduced from a gas-introducing inlet along the lateral face, the protective bag comprises: an upper-side portion arranged along the ceiling portion of an automobile; a main gas passage disposed within the bag and connected to the gas-introducing inlet, the main gas passage extending along at least the upper-side portion; and a plurality of small chambers disposed within the bag and arranged below the main gas passage, each having gas introduced therein from the main gas passage, wherein the small chambers extend diagonally so as to intersect with the upper-side portion in the longitudinal direction along the f lowing out direction of gas of the main gas passage at an angle in the range of 5 to 20'.

In such a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant, since gas introduced from the gas-introducing inlet into the main gas passage flows into the small chambers by changing its flowing direction extremely slightly at an angle of 5 to 20', introduction resistance received by the gas in the vicinity of the inlets of the small chambers is extremely small. Therefore, the stress applied to each part of the bag is reduced while the bag is inflatable rapidly as a whole.

According to the present invention, a protective bag may further comprise a front-side portion arranged along a Apillar of an automobile, wherein the main gas passage may extend along the front-side portion and the upper-side portion, and the gas-introducing inlet may be arranged in the lower portion of the front-side portion.

In a protective bag according to the present invention, the plurality of small chambers may comprise first chambers communicated to the main gas passage in the upper-side portion, second chambers communicated to the main gas passage in the front-side portion, and third chambers communicated to the second chambers.

A protective device for the head of an automobile occupant according to the present invention comprises the protective bag and an inflator connected to the gasintroducing inlet of the protective bag. An automobile according to the present invention is equipped with the protective device.

An embodiment will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings:

Fig. 1 shows a front view of a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant according to a first embodiment of the present invention; Fig. 2 shows a sectional view at the line II-II of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 shows a sectional view at the line III-III of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 shows a sectional view at the line IV-IV of Fig. 2; and Fig. 5 shows a side view of the inside of an automobile having the protective bag according to the embodiment equipped therewith.

The protective bag 1 according to the first embodiment is formed by overlaying a sheet 2 in the cabin side on a sheet 3 in the window side to connect them together linearly so that a main gas passage 7 and small chambers 8a to 8h are formed between both the sheets 2 and 3. Numeral 4 denotes a protruding piece for attaching the bag 1 to a roof side member 32 and an A-pillar 31 of an automobile while numeral 5 represents a through-hole formed in the protruding piece 4 for a locking fixture such as a rivet. Numerals 33, 34, 35, and 36 denote a C-pillar, a B-pillar, a front door, and a rear door, respectively.

The main gas passage 7 extends from the lower end of a front-side portion 1F along the A-pillar to the rear end of an upper-side portion lU along the edge of the bag 1 and is provided with a gas-introducing inlet 6 at the front-side lower end, to which an inflator 30 is connected.

These sheets 2 and 3 are connected together by linear connecting portions 10 and 11 for forming the main gas passage 7 and linear connecting portions 40 to 47 for forming the small chambers 8a to 8h. The connection may be performed by any one of suture, adhesion, and deposition.

The linear connecting portions 10 and 11 extend from the bottom of the front-side portion 1F in parallel with the front-side portion 1F for forming the main gas passage 7 and furthermore extend in parallel with the upper-side portion lU until the rear end thereof. The linear connecting portion 10 passes around toward the upper portion of a rear- side portion 1R of the bag 1 while the linear connecting portion 11 is provided with gas inlets 12 for introducing gas from the main gas passage 7 to the small chambers 8c, 8e, 8f, 8g, and 8h.

6 - Linear connecting portions 45, 46, and 47 extend in the direction intersecting with the linear connecting portion 11 running parallel with the upper-side portion lU to have a falling gradient "0" in the range of 5 to 20c' toward the rear. Other linear connecting portions 40 to 44 also extend in parallel with the linear connecting portions 45 to 47.

Between the linear connecting portions 40 and 41, the small chamber 8a is formed; between the linear connecting portions 41 and 42, the small chamber 8b is formed; between the linear connecting portions 42 and 43, the small chamber 8c is formed; between the linear connecting portions 43 and 44, the small chamber 8d is formed; between the linear connecting portions 44 and 45, the small chamber 8e is formed; between the linear connecting portions 45 and 46, the small chamber 8f is formed; between the linear connecting portions 46 and 47, the small chamber 8g is formed; and between the linear connecting portion 47 and the rear end of the linear connecting portion 10, the small chamber 8h is formed.

As described above, the small chambers 8c, 8e, and 8f to 8h are directly communicated to the main gas passage 7 via the gas inlets 12. The small chamber 8a is communicated to the small chamber 8b via an opening 13; the small chamber 8b is communicated to the small chamber 8c via an opening 14; the small chamber 8d is communicated to the small chamber 8e via an opening 15; the small chambers 8f and 8g are communicated 7 to each other via an opening 16; and the small chambers 8g and 8h are communicated to each other via an opening 17.

The front part of the bag 1 is set up in the folded state along the Apillar 31 of the automobile while the part from the middle to the rear is set up in the folded state along a roof-side rail 32.

The folded bag 1 is covered by a cover (not shown) The cover is formed to be torn when the bag 1 inflates.

In side-on collision or sideways rolling of an automobile, the inflator 30 is operated to send gas from the gasintroducing inlet 6 to the main gas passage 7, and this gas flows into each of the small chambers 8a to 8h from the main gas passage 7 so as to inflate each of the small chambers 8a to 8h.

The gas from the gas-introducing inlet 6 firstly inflates the main gas passage 7, and then inflates the small chambers 8a to 8h. In this state, the small chambers 8f, 8g, and 8h, especially the small chambers 8f and 8g, are communicated to the main gas passage 7 running parallel to the side portion lU so that the small chambers in the longitudinal direction intersect with the main gas passage at a small angle in the range of 5 to 200, thereby the gas inflates the chambers 8f and 8g smoothly. The bag 1 spreads along the doors 35 and 36 8 like a curtain so as to be pulled by the inflating small chambers 8f and 8g, thereby the gas also flows into other small chambers 8a to 8e, and 8h smoothly. Therefore, the time required for inflating the bag 1 is reduced. In the vicinity of each of the gas inlets 12, the stress applied to the sheets 2 and 3 by gas is also reduced. Accordingly, the strength required for the bag 1 could be small to enable the sheets 2 and 3 to be formed by a thin material having small strength. With decreasing thickness of the sheets 2 and 3, the storage space for the folded bag 1 is also reduced.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the rear-side portion 1R is arranged along the C-pillar; however the rear-side portion 1R may be arranged along the B-pillar or a D-pillar.

Also, according to the present invention, the gasintroducing inlet and the inflator may be arranged in the rear side of an automobile, in the Cpillar for example, so that the small chambers are arranged to have a falling gradient from the rear toward the front.

As described above, a protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant according to the present invention can be inflatable more rapidly in comparison with conventional one as a whole. Thereby, an inflator having smaller capacity can a'Lso be utilized. According to the present invention, the stress applied to the bag is relieved enabling the required strength of the material for forming the bag to be reduced.

Claims

- 10 Claims

1. A protective bag for the head of an automobile occupant which is arranged in the vicinity of the intersecting corner of a ceiling portion and a lateral face of the cabin of an automobile and which is inflatable downwardly by gas introduced from a gas-introducing inlet along the lateral face, said protective bag comprising: an upper-side portion arranged along the ceiling portion of an automobile; a main gas passage disposed within the bag and connected to the gas-introducing inlet, said main gas passage extending along at least said upper-side portion; and a plurality of small chambers disposed within the bag and arranged below said main gas passage, each having gas introduced therein from said main gas passage. wherein the small chambers extend diagonally so as to intersect with said upper-side portion in the longitudinal direction along the flowing out direction of gas of said main gas passage at an angle in the range of 5 to 20'.

2. A protective bag according to Claim 1, further comprising a front-side portion arranged along a A-pillar of an automobile, wherein said main gas passage extends along said front-side portion and said upper-side portion, and the gas-introducing inlet is arranged in the lower portion of said front-side portion.

3. A protective bag according to Claim 2, wherein said plurality of small chambers comprise first chambers communicated to said main gas passage in said upper-side portion, second chambers communicated to said main gas passage in said front-side portion, and third chambers communicated to the second chambers.

4. A protective device for the head of an automobile occupant comprising: a protective bag according to any one of Claims 1 to 3; and an inflator connected to the ga3-introducing inlet of said protective bag.

5. An automobile equipped with a protective device for the head of an automobile occupant according to Claim 4.

6. A protection bag substantially as shown and/or described with reference to any of Figures 1 to 5 of the accompanying drawings.