GB2532976A - A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle - Google Patents

A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle Download PDF

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Publication number
GB2532976A
GB2532976A GB1421559.4A GB201421559A GB2532976A GB 2532976 A GB2532976 A GB 2532976A GB 201421559 A GB201421559 A GB 201421559A GB 2532976 A GB2532976 A GB 2532976A
Authority
GB
United Kingdom
Prior art keywords
curtain airbag
airbag
main portion
chamber
additional
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
GB1421559.4A
Other versions
GB201421559D0 (en
Inventor
Jan Swiniarski Michal
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ford Global Technologies LLC
Original Assignee
Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Ford Global Technologies LLC filed Critical Ford Global Technologies LLC
Priority to GB1421559.4A priority Critical patent/GB2532976A/en
Publication of GB201421559D0 publication Critical patent/GB201421559D0/en
Publication of GB2532976A publication Critical patent/GB2532976A/en
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

Links

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/233—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/20—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components
    • B60R21/213—Arrangements for storing inflatable members in their non-use or deflated condition; Arrangement or mounting of air bag modules or components in vehicle roof frames or pillars
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/232—Curtain-type airbags deploying mainly in a vertical direction from their top edge
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/2334—Expansion control features
    • B60R21/2338—Tethers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/2334—Expansion control features
    • B60R21/2346—Soft diffusers
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/237—Inflatable members characterised by the way they are folded
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R2021/0002—Type of accident
    • B60R2021/0023—Offset collision
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B60—VEHICLES IN GENERAL
    • B60R—VEHICLES, VEHICLE FITTINGS, OR VEHICLE PARTS, NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR
    • B60R21/00—Arrangements or fittings on vehicles for protecting or preventing injuries to occupants or pedestrians in case of accidents or other traffic risks
    • B60R21/02—Occupant safety arrangements or fittings, e.g. crash pads
    • B60R21/16—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags
    • B60R21/23—Inflatable members
    • B60R21/231—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration
    • B60R21/233—Inflatable members characterised by their shape, construction or spatial configuration comprising a plurality of individual compartments; comprising two or more bag-like members, one within the other
    • B60R2021/23324—Inner walls crating separate compartments, e.g. communicating with vents

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Air Bags (AREA)

Abstract

A curtain airbag 10 for a vehicle having a main portion comprising at least two chambers and an additional portion or flap 15 comprising a further tertiary chamber 3. The flap is located at, tethered to and folded back onto the main portion. The flap lies inboard of and connected to the main portion to receive a gas supply via a vent (V, figure 3) during deployment. Preferably, the flap is tethered near the upper and lower edges of the main portion free end, which comprises primary 1f, 1r and secondary 2f, 2r chambers defining a single serpent, sinusoidal or a W-shaped gas enclosure; the flap overlies the secondary chamber front part at least partially when stowed and deployed; the tertiary chamber interacts with and supports a driver airbag (32) or a passenger airbag when the curtain airbag and either of the said driver airbag or passenger airbag are deployed.

Description

A Curtain Airbag for a Motor Vehicle This invention relates to road vehicles and in particular to improvements to a curtain airbag of a passenger road vehicle.
It is well known to provide a passenger vehicle such as a car, sports utility vehicle (SUV), minibus or multipurpose vehicle (MPV) with a number airbags to protect the occupants of the motor vehicle in the event of a collision or rollover event. Modern passenger vehicles normally have a driver air bag to protect the driver in the event of a frontal impact, a passenger airbag to protect a front seated passenger in the event of frontal impact and a curtain airbag to protect the occupants of the vehicle in the event of a side impact and to prevent ejection of the occupants from the vehicle in the event of a roll-over event.
There is an ever increasing need for improved vehicle safety and one recent development is the requirement to test vehicle performance in the event of a partial overlap frontal collision. The test developed to test such collisions is often referred to as a "SORB" test and involves approximately 25% of the front of a vehicle impacting against a circa 1.5m (Sft) high rigid barrier at Kph (40 mph).
As a result of such testing the inventor has realised that there is an opportunity to improve the crash performance of a motor vehicle in the event of such an offset impact by modifying the design of the curtain airbag.
It is an object of the invention to provide a curtain airbag for a passenger road vehicle with improved performance in the event of a partial frontal impact. -2 -
According to a first aspect of the invention there is provided a curtain airbag for a passenger vehicle comprising a main portion defining at least two chambers and an additional portion at a front end of the main portion defining an additional chamber that is connected via a vent to a front one of the chambers in the main portion so as to receive a supply of gas therefrom when the curtain airbag is deployed wherein the additional portion is folded back onto the main portion so as to lie inboard of the main portion and is tethered to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
The additional portion may be tethered near a free end thereof to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
The additional portion may be tethered near upper and lower edges of its free end to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
The main portion may define primary and secondary chambers and the additional chamber may be a tertiary chamber connected via the vent to the secondary chamber in the main portion of the curtain airbag so as to receive a supply of gas therefrom.
The primary and secondary chambers may define in combination a single serpent shaped gas enclosure, the primary chamber may have front and rear parts located centrally in the main portion of the curtain airbag, the secondary chamber may have a front part located towards a front edge of the main portion of the curtain airbag in fluid cooperation with the front part of the primary chamber and may have a rear part located towards a rear edge of the main portion of the curtain airbag in fluid cooperation with the rear part of the primary chamber. The single (serpent shaped) gas enclosure may alternatively be described as broadly W-shaped, roughly sinusoidal in shape, or wave-shaped.
The additional portion may be tethered near a free end 5 thereof to the main portion of the curtain airbag at a position between the front part of the secondary chamber and the front part of the primary chamber.
The additional chamber may overlie at least part of the front part of the secondary chamber.
The additional chamber may overlie at least part of the front part of the secondary chamber in both the stowed and deployed states.
According to a second aspect of the invention there is provided a curtain airbag assembly comprising a curtain airbag constructed in accordance with said first aspect of the invention and at least one inflator to supply gas to the at least two chambers of the main portion of the curtain airbag.
The main portion of the curtain airbag may have a primary chamber having front and rear parts and the inflator 25 may supply gas to the front and rear parts of the primary chamber during deployment of the curtain airbag.
According to a third aspect of the invention there is provided a vehicle having a passenger compartment, a first curtain airbag assembly constructed in accordance with said second aspect of the invention located on one longitudinal side of the passenger compartment and one of a driver airbag and a passenger airbag located at a front end of the passenger compartment, the additional portion of the curtain airbag being arranged to interact with one of the driver airbag and the passenger airbag when the airbags are deployed. -4 -
The vehicle may further comprise a second curtain airbag assembly constructed in accordance with said second aspect of the invention located on an opposite longitudinal side of the passenger compartment to the first curtain airbag assembly, the vehicle has a driver airbag and a passenger airbag located at a front end of the passenger compartment, the additional portion of the first curtain airbag being arranged to interact with the driver airbag when the first curtain airbag and the driver airbag are deployed and the additional portion of the second curtain airbag being arranged to interact with the passenger airbag when the second curtain airbag and the passenger airbag are deployed.
The invention will now be described by way of example with reference to the accompanying drawing of which:-Fig.1 is a side view of a curtain airbag forming part of a curtain airbag assembly constructed in accordance with first and second aspects of the invention showing the flow of gas from an inflator to various chambers of the curtain airbag; Fig.2 is a plan view of the curtain airbag shown in Fig.1 showing the curtain airbag in a fully deployed state interacting with a driver airbag; Fig.3 is an enlarged plan view of the area A indicated on Fig.2; Fig.4 is a pictorial view of the curtain airbag assembly showing the curtain airbag in a fully deployed state; _ 5 _ Fig.5 is a side view of the curtain airbag assembly showing the curtain airbag in a first stage of preparation for stowage; and Fig.6 is a side view of the curtain airbag assembly showing the curtain airbag in a second stage of preparation for stowage.
With reference to the figures there is provided a 1(7) curtain airbag 10 having a main portion defined by an upper edge 10t, a rear edge 10r, a lower edge 10b, a front edge 10f, an inner side 10i and an outer side 10e. The inner side 10i is located, when the curtain airbag 10 is fully deployed, on an inboard side of the curtain airbag 10 and faces towards the occupants of the vehicle and the outer side 10e is located, when the curtain airbag 10 is fully deployed, on an outboard side of the curtain airbag 10 and faces towards the side glass of the vehicle.
A number of attachment lugs 11 are positioned along the upper edge 10t of the curtain airbag 10 for attaching the curtain airbag 10 to a structural part of the vehicle such as, for example, an upper side rail (not shown).
The main portion of the curtain airbag 10 defines a single serpent shaped inflatable gas enclosure which in this case is comprised of front and rear primary chambers if and 1r, front and rear secondary chambers 2f and 2r. The main portion of the curtain airbag 10 between its front edge 10f and its rear edge lOr is essentially conventional in construction and it will be appreciated that instead of there being primary and secondary chambers there could be a number of chambers in this part of the airbag 10. It will also be appreciated that the terms primary, secondary and tertiary indicate the order in which the respective chambers are inflated during the deployment of the curtain airbag 10. -6 -
At the front end of the main portion of the curtain airbag 10 there is provided an additional portion of the curtain airbag 10 that extends away from the front edge of the main portion of the curtain airbag 10 and is in the form of an extension flap 15. An additional or tertiary chamber 3 is defined by the extension flap 15.
The main and additional portions of the curtain airbag 10 are preferably formed as a single component from either two pieces of woven material that are sewn together to define the primary secondary and tertiary chambers if, 1r; 2f, 2r and 3 respectively or from a single piece of woven material that is folded along a longitudinal axis of the curtain airbag 10 to form the upper edge 10t of the main portion of the curtain airbag 10 and is sewn along the lower edge 10b to hold it in place and is also sewn in acircuitous manner to define the primary secondary and tertiary chambers lf, 1r; 2f, 2r and 3 respectively.
With particular reference to Figs.2 to 4 the curtain airbag 10 is shown in a fully deployed state. The tertiary chamber 3 formed in the extension flap 15 extends away from the front edge 10f of the main portion curtain airbag 10 and includes a tether portion 19 defining upper and lower tether apertures 16 and 17. In this case there are two upper tether apertures 16 and each of these is aligned with and tethered by means of a tether 18 to in this case two complementary tether apertures 12 formed in the main part of the curtain airbag 10 between the front primary and secondary chambers if and 2f. The single lower tether aperture 17 in the tether portion 19 of the extension flap 15 is aligned with and tethered by means of a tether (not shown) to a complementary tether aperture 13 formed in the main part of the curtain airbag 10 near to the lower edge 10b of the main portion of the curtain airbag 10. -7 -
The extension flap 15 is folded back along a fold line indicated by the dotted line x-x on Fig.5 so that the tertiary chamber 3 overlies the front secondary chamber 2f and lies inboard of the secondary chamber 2f.
Fig.5 shows a first stage of stowage of the curtain airbag 10 with the entire curtain airbag 10 in an uninflated state and laid flat. The curtain airbag 10 has already been connected at its upper edge 10t to an inflator 20 to form a curtain airbag assembly.
From this laid flat state the extension flap 15 is first folded back along the fold line x-x in the direction of arrow D on Fig.5 so as to bring the upper and lower tether apertures 16 and 17 into alignment with the complementary apertures 12, 13 in the main part of the curtain airbag 10.
The extension flap 15 is then tethered to the main part of the curtain airbag 10 using tethers 18 thereby securing it in position.
Then, as indicated in Fig.6 the curtain airbag 10 is rolled up from the lower end 10b until it forms a helically 25 wound roll located adjacent the upper edge of the curtain airbag 10.
The stowed curtain airbag 10 along with the inflator 20 are then fitted to the vehicle and secured in position and finally a cover (not shown) is placed over the stowed curtain airbag 10 and inflator 20 to conceal them from view.
Referring back to Figs.2 to 4 the extension flap 15 remains tethered to the main portion of the curtain airbag 10 at all times and the use of upper and lower tethers ensures that the extension flap 15 and, in particular, the tertiary chamber 3 remain in position when the curtain -8 -airbag 10 is fully deployed. In Figs.2 and 3 it can be seen that when fully deployed the inflation of the tertiary chamber 3 causes the extension flap 15 to engage with an inboard located driver airbag 32 mounted on a steering wheel 30 located in a passenger compartment 100 of the vehicle.
Advantageously, when inflated, the extension flap 15 is shaped to match an adjacent part of the driver airbag 32 so that they interact with one another. It will be appreciated that on a passenger side of the vehicle the same arrangement will preferably be used. That is to say, the extension flap 15 when inflated is shaped to match an adjacent part of the passenger airbag (not shown) so that they interact with one another.
Preferably, the vehicle is provided with a first curtain airbag assembly 10, 20 located on one longitudinal side of the passenger compartment 100 for interaction in the deployed state with a driver airbag located at a front end of the passenger compartment 100 when the first curtain and the driver airbags are deployed and a second curtain airbag assembly 10, 20 located on an opposite longitudinal side of the passenger compartment to the first curtain airbag assembly for interaction in the deployed state with a passenger airbag located at the front end of the passenger compartment 100 when the passenger and the second curtain airbags are deployed.
The additional portion 15 of the first curtain airbag 10 is with such an arrangement shaped to match the driver airbag 32 and the additional portion 15 of the second curtain airbag 10 is shaped to match the passenger airbag. The complementary shaping of the additional portion 15 or to be more specific the inflated shape of the tertiary chamber 3 defined by the additional portion partially interlocks the respective curtain airbag 10 to the co-operating driver or passenger airbag with which the respective curtain airbag 10 _ 9 _ interacts. It will be appreciated that there could be more than one inflator if more than two chambers are used in the main portion of the curtain airbag.
Referring now to Fig.1, which shows the flow of gas from the inflator 20 during deployment of the curtain airbag 10, the flow of gas is indicated by arrows 'F'. The curtain airbag 10 is shown laid flat so that the flow of gas from the front secondary chamber 2f to the tertiary chamber 3 can be seen. It will however be appreciated that, in practice, the tertiary chamber 3 overlies the front secondary chamber 2f.
Initially, in the event of a relevant event occurring requiring deployment of the curtain airbag 10, gas will flow from the inflator 20 to the front and rear primary chambers lf and lr which inflate within a few milliseconds of inflator activation to provide side impact protection, the gas then flows into the front and rear secondary chambers 2f and 2r to help the primary chambers if, lr prevent ejection of occupants.
Then, when the gas pressure in the front secondary chamber 2f reaches a predetermined level, the expansion of the front secondary chamber 2f caused by the internal gas pressure causes a vent V linking the front secondary chamber 2f to the tertiary chamber 3 to open thereby allowing gas to flow from the front secondary chamber 2f into the tertiary chamber 3 thereby inflating the tertiary chamber 3.
At the same time as these deployment events are occurring in the curtain airbag 10 any other airbags on the vehicle such as the driver airbag 32 and a passenger airbag will also be deployed.
Due to the small time delay between the initial firing of the inflator 20 and the inflation of the tertiary chamber -10 - 3, the driver and passenger airbags will normally be fully inflated or deployed prior to the full inflation of the tertiary chamber 3.
The tertiary chamber 3 therefore reinforces or provides secondary support for an outer side of the driver airbag 32 or for a passenger airbag so that if the head of an occupant is urged to the outer side of the respective driver or passenger airbag it is more difficult for it to pass between the front secondary chamber 2f and the adjacent driver or passenger airbag due to the presence of the tertiary chamber 3. Because the tertiary chamber 3 is inflated later than the driver airbag 32 or a corresponding passenger airbag it provides increased protection later in a crash event than the driver airbag 32 on its own or a corresponding passenger airbag on its own by supporting the driver airbag 32 or passenger airbag.
One of the advantages of the invention is that there is no requirement for any additional external tethers. All tethering is done as part of the curtain airbag 10. It would therefore be possible to replace an existing curtain airbag with an airbag constructed in accordance to this invention without making any significant modifications to the vehicle.
Although the tethers shown in the figures are external tethers it will be appreciated that internal tethering could be used to control the positioning of the additional portion 15 of the curtain airbag 10 during deployment.
However, external tethering as shown and described is preferred because it provides better control of movement and positioning of the extension flap 15.
Therefore in summary, the invention provides an additional portion at the front of a main portion of a curtain airbag. The additional portion defines an additional chamber to provide additional protection, particularly, in the case of a partial frontal impact. The additional part of the curtain airbag is folded over onto the main portion of the curtain airbag so that a wall of the inflatable additional chamber lies on an inboard wall of an inflatable chamber in the main portion of the curtain airbag used to provide gas to the additional chamber. A pair of connections is made between respective top and bottom edges 10 of the additional portion to the main portion of the curtain airbag so as to hold the additional portion folded over and in a correct position when the curtain airbag is deployed.
The main portion when the curtain airbag is deployed in a crash scenario, provides, via the inflation of one or more a primary chambers, side impact protection in the first few milliseconds of the crash event and then, via the inflation of one or more secondary chambers, helps to reduce the risk of occupant ejection out of the vehicle and finally, via the inflation of the additional chamber, provides additional protection at the front end of the curtain airbag. By providing overlap between the additional chamber and a chamber formed by one of a driver airbag and a passenger airbag respectively provides cushioning in a zone between the instrument panel of the vehicle and a door or door trim of the vehicle.
It will be appreciated by those skilled in the art that although the invention has been described by way of example with reference to one or more embodiments it is not limited to the disclosed embodiments and that alternative embodiments could be constructed without departing from the scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

Claims (15)

  1. -12 -Claims 1. A curtain airbag for a passenger vehicle comprising a main portion defining at least two chambers and 5 an additional portion at a front end of the main portion defining an additional chamber that is connected via a vent to a front one of the chambers in the main portion so as to receive a supply of gas therefrom when the curtain airbag is deployed wherein the additional portion is folded back onto 10 the main portion so as to lie inboard of the main portion and is tethered to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
  2. 2. A curtain airbag as claimed in claim 1 wherein the additional portion is tethered near a free end thereof to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
  3. 3. A curtain airbag as claimed in claim 2 wherein the additional portion is tethered near upper and lower edges of its free end to the main portion of the curtain airbag.
  4. 4. A curtain airbag as claimed in any of claims 1 to 3 wherein the main portion defines primary and secondary chambers and the additional chamber is a tertiary chamber connected via the vent to the secondary chamber in the main portion of the curtain airbag so as to receive a supply of gas therefrom.
  5. 5. A curtain airbag as claimed in claim 4 wherein the primary and secondary chambers define in combination a single serpent shaped gas enclosure, the primary chamber having front and rear parts located centrally in the main portion of the curtain airbag, the secondary chamber having a front part located towards a front edge of the main portion of the curtain airbag in fluid cooperation with the front part of the primary chamber and having a rear part located towards a rear edge of the main portion of the -13 -curtain airbag in fluid cooperation with the rear part of the primary chamber.
  6. 6. A curtain airbag as claimed in claim 5 wherein the additional portion is tethered near a free end thereof to the main portion of the curtain airbag at a position between the front part of the secondary chamber and the front part of the primary chamber.
  7. 7. A curtain airbag as claimed in any of claims 2 to 6 wherein the additional chamber overlies at least part of the front part of the secondary chamber.
  8. 8. A curtain airbag as claimed in claim 7 when claim 7 is dependent upon claim 5 or upon claim 6 wherein the additional chamber overlies at least part of the front part of the secondary chamber in both the stowed and deployed states.
  9. 9. A curtain airbag assembly comprising a curtain airbag as claimed in any of claims 1 to 8 and at least one inflator to supply gas to the at least two chambers of the main portion of the curtain airbag.
  10. 10. An assembly as claimed in claim 9 wherein the main portion of the curtain airbag has a primary chamber having front and rear parts and the inflator supplies gas to the front an rear parts of the primary chamber during deployment of the curtain airbag.
  11. 11. A vehicle having a passenger compartment, a first curtain airbag assembly as claimed in claim 9 or in claim 10 located on one longitudinal side of the passenger compartment and one of a driver airbag and a passenger airbag located at a front end of the passenger compartment wherein the additional portion of the curtain airbag is -14 -arranged to interact with one of the driver airbag and the passenger airbag when the airbags are deployed.
  12. 12. A vehicle as claimed in claim 11 wherein the vehicle further comprises a second curtain airbag assembly as claimed in claim 9 or in claim 10 located on an opposite longitudinal side of the passenger compartment to the first curtain airbag assembly, the vehicle has a driver airbag and a passenger airbag located at a front end of the passenger compartment wherein the additional portion of the first curtain airbag is arranged to interact with the driver airbag when the first curtain airbag and the driver airbag are deployed and the additional portion of the second curtain airbag is arranged to interact with the passenger airbag when the second curtain airbag and the passenger airbag are deployed.
  13. 13. A curtain airbag substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.
  14. 14. A curtain airbag assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.
  15. 15. A vehicle having a curtain airbag assembly substantially as described herein with reference to the accompanying drawing.
GB1421559.4A 2014-12-04 2014-12-04 A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle Withdrawn GB2532976A (en)

Priority Applications (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1421559.4A GB2532976A (en) 2014-12-04 2014-12-04 A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle

Applications Claiming Priority (1)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
GB1421559.4A GB2532976A (en) 2014-12-04 2014-12-04 A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle

Publications (2)

Publication Number Publication Date
GB201421559D0 GB201421559D0 (en) 2015-01-21
GB2532976A true GB2532976A (en) 2016-06-08

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GB1421559.4A Withdrawn GB2532976A (en) 2014-12-04 2014-12-04 A curtain airbag for a motor vehicle

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Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20170151925A1 (en) * 2014-07-14 2017-06-01 Autoliv Development Ab Side curtain airbag for vehicle
JP2017114250A (en) * 2015-12-24 2017-06-29 株式会社Ｓｕｂａｒｕ Airbag device
DE102018115063A1 (en) * 2018-06-22 2019-12-24 Dalphi Metal Espana, S.A. CURTAIN SIDE GAS BAG AND VEHICLE PASSENGER RESTRAINT SYSTEM

Citations (5)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20030090094A1 (en) * 2000-05-26 2003-05-15 Takata-Petri Ag Protective device for a motor vehicle
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