US20010015546A1 - Air bag system for motor vehicle, and method of controlling the same - Google Patents
Air bag system for motor vehicle, and method of controlling the same Download PDFInfo
- Publication number
- US20010015546A1 US20010015546A1 US09/209,742 US20974298A US2001015546A1 US 20010015546 A1 US20010015546 A1 US 20010015546A1 US 20974298 A US20974298 A US 20974298A US 2001015546 A1 US2001015546 A1 US 2001015546A1
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- US
- United States
- Prior art keywords
- air bag
- inflator
- gas
- lower section
- vehicle occupant
- 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.)
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Classifications
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- 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
- B60R21/01—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents
- B60R21/015—Electrical circuits for triggering passive safety arrangements, e.g. airbags, safety belt tighteners, in case of vehicle accidents or impending vehicle accidents including means for detecting the presence or position of passengers, passenger seats or child seats, and the related safety parameters therefor, e.g. speed or timing of airbag inflation in relation to occupant position or seat belt use
- B60R21/01512—Passenger detection systems
- B60R21/01544—Passenger detection systems detecting seat belt parameters, e.g. length, tension or height-adjustment
- B60R21/01546—Passenger detection systems detecting seat belt parameters, e.g. length, tension or height-adjustment using belt buckle sensors
-
- 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
-
- 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
- B60R21/26—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags characterised by the inflation fluid source or means to control inflation fluid flow
- B60R21/263—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags characterised by the inflation fluid source or means to control inflation fluid flow using a variable source, e.g. plural stage or controlled output
- B60R2021/2633—Inflatable occupant restraints or confinements designed to inflate upon impact or impending impact, e.g. air bags characterised by the inflation fluid source or means to control inflation fluid flow using a variable source, e.g. plural stage or controlled output with a plurality of inflation levels
-
- 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
- B60R21/2342—Tear seams
-
- 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
- B60R21/239—Inflatable members characterised by their venting means
Definitions
- the present invention relates to an air bag system that restrains a vehicle occupant upon a collision of a motor vehicle, for example, so as to protect the vehicle occupant from an impact applied to the vehicle body, and in particular to such an air bag system that is able to restrain the vehicle occupant with high efficiency, and a method of controlling the air bag system.
- An air bag system for a motor vehicle as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,113 has been known which includes an inflatable bag, and an inflation-controlling member that is coupled to the bag and serves to control inflation of the bag.
- a releasable connection of the inflation-controlling member remains intact during initial stages of the inflation process of the bag, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its initial length, thereby to restrict inflation of the bag.
- the releasable connection releases during intermediate stages of the inflation process of the bag, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its intermediate length, and the bag assumes an intermediate shape.
- a stretchable section of the inflation-controlling member then stretches during the final stages of the inflation process, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its final length, and the bag assumes a final shape.
- the air bag is able to protect a vehicle occupant who is seated at a location other than a nominal seated position, and also permits the bag and the vehicle occupant to softly or flexibly contact with each other when he/she is seated at the nominal position.
- the vehicle occupant who is seated at the nominal position is restricted and protected by the bag that has inflated to its full size in the final stages, and therefore the maximum amount of gas is always supplied to the bag upon its inflation.
- the bag that has inflated to its full size may undesirably apply an excessively large restraining force to the chest of the vehicle occupant.
- the present invention provides an air bag system for a motor vehicle, comprising: an inflator that is installed on the motor vehicle; a control device that causes the inflator to emit gas when an impact that is greater than a predetermined value is applied to a vehicle body of the motor vehicle; an air bag that deploys to fill space between a vehicle occupant and the inflator when the gas emitted from the inflator is supplied to the air bag, the air bag having a plurality of sections that are formed independently of each other; and a sensor that detects whether the vehicle occupant wears a seat belt.
- the control device changes an amount of the gas supplied from the inflator to each of the plurality of sections, depending upon a result of detection of the sensor. With the air bag system thus constructed, the air bag is able to vary its capability to restrain the vehicle occupant, depending upon whether the vehicle occupant is using the seat belt or not.
- an inner space of the air bag is divided by a partition wall into an upper section and a lower section.
- the control device controls the inflator so as to supply the gas to the upper section and the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant fails to wear the seat belt.
- control device may control the inflator so as to reduce an amount of gas supplied to the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant wears the seat belt, than an amount of gas supplied to the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant fails to wear the seat belt.
- FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an air bag system according to one embodiment of the present invention
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part of the air bag system of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a principal part of an air bag system according to another embodiment of the present invention.
- FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a control routine according to which the air bag system of the embodiment of FIG. 1 controls inflation of an air bag.
- an air bag module 2 is housed in a vehicle instrument panel 1 on the side of the passenger seat.
- the air bag module 2 includes an air bag 3 that is normally in a folded condition, and inflators 8 , 9 as described later.
- the air bag 3 folded in the air bag module 2 inflates or deploys, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner space of the air bag 3 is divided by a cloth partition wall extending toward the passenger 12 , into an upper section 5 having a relatively large capacity, and a lower section 6 having a relatively small capacity.
- the partition wall 4 is sewn to the inner surface of the air bag 3 . More specifically, two side edges of the partition wall (on the opposite sides as viewed in the vehicle width direction in FIG. 2) are firmly sewn to the inner surface of the air bag 3 , whereas an end portion 7 of the partition wall 4 that faces the passenger seat is bent upwards, and relatively weakly sewn to the inner surface of the air bag 3 .
- the binding strength between the passenger-side end portion 7 of the partition wall 4 and the air bag 3 may be made lower than that between the two sides edges and the air bag 3 , by using relatively weak or thin thread when sewing the end portion 7 to the air bag 3 , or increasing the sewing pitch or interval at the end portion 7 , for example.
- the air bag module 2 is provided with upper inflator 8 and lower inflator 9 that are controlled by a control device 15 .
- a gas outlet 10 of the upper inflator 8 is held in communication with the upper section 5 of the air bag 3
- a gas outlet 11 of the lower inflator 9 is held in communication with the lower section 6 of the air bag 3 .
- the air bag system is provided with a seat belt sensor 16 that detects whether the passenger 12 sitting on the passenger seat is wearing a seat belt or not.
- step S 2 is executed to determine whether the passenger 12 is using the seat belt, based on the output of the seat belt sensor.
- step S 2 If an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S 2 , namely, when the passenger 12 is wearing the seat belt, only the upper inflator 8 is caused to operate, and the gas emitted from the upper inflator 8 is led to the upper section 5 of the air bag 3 having a relatively large capacity, through the upper gas outlet 10 , so as to deploy the upper section 5 (step S 3 ).
- the lower inflator 9 does not operate, and therefore the end portion 7 of the partition wall 4 is pressed against the inner surface of the air bag 3 due to the gas pressure in the upper section 5 , and thus kept weakly engaged with the air bag 3 . Accordingly, the partition wall 4 keeps separating the upper section 5 from the lower section 6 to inhibit communication therebetween, and the air bag 3 expands obliquely and upwardly, to the size corresponding to that of the upper section 5 .
- the air bag 3 that deploys from inside the instrument panel 1 toward the passenger 12 mainly serves to relatively softly restrains the head of the passenger 12 , to thus protect the passenger 12 from the impact.
- step S 2 When a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S 2 , namely, where the passenger 12 is not using the seat belt, the control flow goes to step S 4 in which the lower inflator 9 is initially caused to operate, and the gas emitted from the lower inflator 9 is led to the lower section 6 of the air bag 3 having a relatively small capacity, through the lower gas outlet 11 (step S 4 ).
- the air bag 3 inflates or deploys backwards to the size corresponding to that of the lower section 6 , as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1.
- the pressure in the lower section 6 increases rapidly upon the start of the operation of the lower inflator 9 , and the end portion 7 of the partition wall 4 is separated or disengaged from the inner surface of the air bag 3 due to the increased pressure, thereby allowing the upper section 5 and lower section 6 to communicate with each other. In this manner, the pressure in the lower section 6 is prevented from being excessively increased.
- step S 5 After a predetermined time elapses in step S 5 , the upper inflator 8 starts operating, and gas emitted from the upper inflator 8 is led to the upper section 5 of the air bag 3 having a relatively large capacity, through the upper gas outlet 10 , so as to deploy the upper portion 5 in step S 6 .
- the gas emitted from the lower inflator 9 and the gas emitted from the upper inflator 8 fill the entire space in the air bag 3 , so as to provide a uniform pressure in the air bag 3 .
- the air bag 3 deploys widely from the inside of the instrument panel 1 toward the passenger 12 , with the gas filling the entire space of the upper portion 5 and the lower portion 6 . Consequently, the air bag 3 restrains the head and chest of the passenger 12 with a suitable degree of elasticity, thereby to surely protect the passenger 12 from the impact.
- the amount of gas supplied from the inflators to a plurality of sections in the air bag is changed depending upon the result of detection of the seat belt sensor.
- the passenger restraining capability can be varied depending upon whether the passenger is using the seat belt or not.
- the inner space of the air bag is divided by the partition wall into the upper section and the lower section, and the gas is supplied to both the upper section and the lower section when the seat belt sensor detects that the passenger is not wearing the seat belt.
- the upper and lower sections of the air bag are able to accurately and effectively restrain the head and chest of the passenger who is not wearing the seat belt.
- the amount of gas supplied to the lower section of the air bag is reduced when the seat belt sensor detects that the passenger is using the seat belt.
- a reduced restraining force is applied to the chest of the passenger who is wearing the seat belt, which is less required to be restrained, and thus the air bag system can restrain the passenger with improved efficiency.
- a VelcroTM fastener may be used to engage the end portion 7 with the air bag 3 .
- the binding or fastening force of the Velcro fastener needs to increase with an increase in the gas pressure in the upper section 5 .
- a valve 14 that restricts gas flow from the upper section 5 into the lower section 6 may be provided on the partition wall 4 , as shown in FIG. 3, so that the upper section 5 and the lower section 6 communicate with each other when the pressure in the lower section 6 becomes higher than that in the upper section 5 by a predetermined value or greater.
- the lower inflator 9 is totally inhibited from operating when the passenger 12 is using the seat belt. It is, however, possible to allow the lower inflator 9 to emit a small amount of gas provided that the gas flowing into the lower section 6 does not result in an excessively large restraining force applied to the chest of the passenger 12 .
- the air bag 3 is divided into two sections, namely, upper section 5 and lower section 6
- the air bag 3 may be divided into three or more sections, and the amount of gas supplied to each section may be controlled in response to a signal indicative of the result of detection of the seat belt sensor.
- the present invention is equally applicable to air bag systems installed on the side of the driver's seat or rear seat.
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- Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
- Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
- Air Bags (AREA)
Abstract
Description
- The present invention relates to an air bag system that restrains a vehicle occupant upon a collision of a motor vehicle, for example, so as to protect the vehicle occupant from an impact applied to the vehicle body, and in particular to such an air bag system that is able to restrain the vehicle occupant with high efficiency, and a method of controlling the air bag system.
- An air bag system for a motor vehicle as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 5,308,113 has been known which includes an inflatable bag, and an inflation-controlling member that is coupled to the bag and serves to control inflation of the bag.
- More specifically, a releasable connection of the inflation-controlling member remains intact during initial stages of the inflation process of the bag, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its initial length, thereby to restrict inflation of the bag. The releasable connection releases during intermediate stages of the inflation process of the bag, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its intermediate length, and the bag assumes an intermediate shape. A stretchable section of the inflation-controlling member then stretches during the final stages of the inflation process, so that the inflation-controlling member extends to its final length, and the bag assumes a final shape.
- With this arrangement, the air bag is able to protect a vehicle occupant who is seated at a location other than a nominal seated position, and also permits the bag and the vehicle occupant to softly or flexibly contact with each other when he/she is seated at the nominal position.
- In the known air bag system, however, the vehicle occupant who is seated at the nominal position is restricted and protected by the bag that has inflated to its full size in the final stages, and therefore the maximum amount of gas is always supplied to the bag upon its inflation. Where the vehicle occupant is wearing a seat belt, therefore, the bag that has inflated to its full size may undesirably apply an excessively large restraining force to the chest of the vehicle occupant.
- It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an air bag system wherein the capability of an air bag to restrain the vehicle occupant is changed depending upon whether the occupant is wearing a seat belt or not, so that the air bag can restrain the vehicle occupant with improved efficiency, to thus protect the occupant from an impact upon a collision of the vehicle. It is another object of the invention to provide a method of controlling such an air bag system.
- To accomplish the above object, the present invention provides an air bag system for a motor vehicle, comprising: an inflator that is installed on the motor vehicle; a control device that causes the inflator to emit gas when an impact that is greater than a predetermined value is applied to a vehicle body of the motor vehicle; an air bag that deploys to fill space between a vehicle occupant and the inflator when the gas emitted from the inflator is supplied to the air bag, the air bag having a plurality of sections that are formed independently of each other; and a sensor that detects whether the vehicle occupant wears a seat belt. In this air bag system, the control device changes an amount of the gas supplied from the inflator to each of the plurality of sections, depending upon a result of detection of the sensor. With the air bag system thus constructed, the air bag is able to vary its capability to restrain the vehicle occupant, depending upon whether the vehicle occupant is using the seat belt or not.
- In one preferred form of the invention, an inner space of the air bag is divided by a partition wall into an upper section and a lower section. In this case, the control device controls the inflator so as to supply the gas to the upper section and the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant fails to wear the seat belt. With this arrangement, the upper and lower sections of the air bag are able to accurately and effectively restrain the head and chest of the vehicle occupant who is not using the seat belt.
- In the above form of the invention, the control device may control the inflator so as to reduce an amount of gas supplied to the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant wears the seat belt, than an amount of gas supplied to the lower section when the result of detection of the sensor indicates that the vehicle occupant fails to wear the seat belt. With this arrangement, a reduced restraining force is applied to the chest of the vehicle occupant who is wearing the seat belt, which is less required to be restrained, and therefore the air bag system is able to restrain the vehicle occupant with improved efficiency.
- The invention will be described in greater detail with reference to preferred embodiments thereof and the accompanying drawings, wherein:.
- FIG. 1 is a vertical cross-sectional view of an air bag system according to one embodiment of the present invention;
- FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a principal part of the air bag system of the embodiment of FIG. 1;
- FIG. 3 is an enlarged view of a principal part of an air bag system according to another embodiment of the present invention; and
- FIG. 4 is a flow chart of a control routine according to which the air bag system of the embodiment of FIG. 1 controls inflation of an air bag.
- Referring first to FIG. 1, an
air bag module 2 is housed in a vehicle instrument panel 1 on the side of the passenger seat. Theair bag module 2 includes anair bag 3 that is normally in a folded condition, andinflators air bag 3 folded in theair bag module 2 inflates or deploys, as shown in FIG. 2, the inner space of theair bag 3 is divided by a cloth partition wall extending toward thepassenger 12, into anupper section 5 having a relatively large capacity, and alower section 6 having a relatively small capacity. - In the present embodiment, the
partition wall 4 is sewn to the inner surface of theair bag 3. More specifically, two side edges of the partition wall (on the opposite sides as viewed in the vehicle width direction in FIG. 2) are firmly sewn to the inner surface of theair bag 3, whereas anend portion 7 of thepartition wall 4 that faces the passenger seat is bent upwards, and relatively weakly sewn to the inner surface of theair bag 3. - The binding strength between the passenger-
side end portion 7 of thepartition wall 4 and theair bag 3 may be made lower than that between the two sides edges and theair bag 3, by using relatively weak or thin thread when sewing theend portion 7 to theair bag 3, or increasing the sewing pitch or interval at theend portion 7, for example. - With this arrangement, when the pressure within the
lower section 6 of theair bag 3 becomes higher than the pressure within theupper section 5 by a predetermined value or greater, theend portion 7 is relatively easily separated or disengaged from the inner surface of theair bag 3, to thus provide a uniform pressure in theair bag 3. - The
air bag module 2 is provided withupper inflator 8 andlower inflator 9 that are controlled by acontrol device 15. Agas outlet 10 of theupper inflator 8 is held in communication with theupper section 5 of theair bag 3, and agas outlet 11 of thelower inflator 9 is held in communication with thelower section 6 of theair bag 3. The air bag system is provided with aseat belt sensor 16 that detects whether thepassenger 12 sitting on the passenger seat is wearing a seat belt or not. - Referring next to the flow chart of FIG. 4, the operation of the air bag system will be explained.
- If the
control device 15 determines that an impact force that is equal to or greater than a predetermined value is applied to the vehicle body in step S1, step S2 is executed to determine whether thepassenger 12 is using the seat belt, based on the output of the seat belt sensor. - If an affirmative decision (YES) is obtained in step S2, namely, when the
passenger 12 is wearing the seat belt, only theupper inflator 8 is caused to operate, and the gas emitted from theupper inflator 8 is led to theupper section 5 of theair bag 3 having a relatively large capacity, through theupper gas outlet 10, so as to deploy the upper section 5 (step S3). - At this time, the
lower inflator 9 does not operate, and therefore theend portion 7 of thepartition wall 4 is pressed against the inner surface of theair bag 3 due to the gas pressure in theupper section 5, and thus kept weakly engaged with theair bag 3. Accordingly, thepartition wall 4 keeps separating theupper section 5 from thelower section 6 to inhibit communication therebetween, and theair bag 3 expands obliquely and upwardly, to the size corresponding to that of theupper section 5. Thus, theair bag 3 that deploys from inside the instrument panel 1 toward thepassenger 12 mainly serves to relatively softly restrains the head of thepassenger 12, to thus protect thepassenger 12 from the impact. - Since it is less necessary to restrain the chest of the
passenger 12 while he/she is using the seat belt, no gas is supplied from thelower inflator 9 to thelower section 6 of theair bag 3. Namely, while thepassenger 12 is using the seat belt, the amount of gas supplied to theair bag 3 is controlled not to be greater than needed, thus enabling the air bag to restrain thepassenger 12 with high efficiency. - When a negative decision (NO) is obtained in step S2, namely, where the
passenger 12 is not using the seat belt, the control flow goes to step S4 in which thelower inflator 9 is initially caused to operate, and the gas emitted from thelower inflator 9 is led to thelower section 6 of theair bag 3 having a relatively small capacity, through the lower gas outlet 11 (step S4). As a result, theair bag 3 inflates or deploys backwards to the size corresponding to that of thelower section 6, as indicated by a two-dot chain line in FIG. 1. - Since the capacity or volume of the
lower section 5 is set smaller than that of theupper section 5, the pressure in thelower section 6 increases rapidly upon the start of the operation of thelower inflator 9, and theend portion 7 of thepartition wall 4 is separated or disengaged from the inner surface of theair bag 3 due to the increased pressure, thereby allowing theupper section 5 andlower section 6 to communicate with each other. In this manner, the pressure in thelower section 6 is prevented from being excessively increased. - After a predetermined time elapses in step S5, the
upper inflator 8 starts operating, and gas emitted from theupper inflator 8 is led to theupper section 5 of theair bag 3 having a relatively large capacity, through theupper gas outlet 10, so as to deploy theupper portion 5 in step S6. - Since the
upper section 5 and thelower section 6 are in communication with each other at this time, the gas emitted from thelower inflator 9 and the gas emitted from theupper inflator 8 fill the entire space in theair bag 3, so as to provide a uniform pressure in theair bag 3. Thus, theair bag 3 deploys widely from the inside of the instrument panel 1 toward thepassenger 12, with the gas filling the entire space of theupper portion 5 and thelower portion 6. Consequently, theair bag 3 restrains the head and chest of thepassenger 12 with a suitable degree of elasticity, thereby to surely protect thepassenger 12 from the impact. - In the air bag system according to the present invention as described above, the amount of gas supplied from the inflators to a plurality of sections in the air bag is changed depending upon the result of detection of the seat belt sensor. Thus, the passenger restraining capability can be varied depending upon whether the passenger is using the seat belt or not.
- In the air bag system of the present embodiment, the inner space of the air bag is divided by the partition wall into the upper section and the lower section, and the gas is supplied to both the upper section and the lower section when the seat belt sensor detects that the passenger is not wearing the seat belt. Thus, the upper and lower sections of the air bag are able to accurately and effectively restrain the head and chest of the passenger who is not wearing the seat belt.
- Furthermore, the amount of gas supplied to the lower section of the air bag is reduced when the seat belt sensor detects that the passenger is using the seat belt. As a result, a reduced restraining force is applied to the chest of the passenger who is wearing the seat belt, which is less required to be restrained, and thus the air bag system can restrain the passenger with improved efficiency.
- While the
end portion 7 of thepartition wall 4 is tentatively or weakly sewn to the inner surface of theair bag 3 in the illustrated embodiment, a Velcro™ fastener, or the like, may be used to engage theend portion 7 with theair bag 3. In this case, when the gas is supplied only to theupper section 5 of theair bag 3, the binding or fastening force of the Velcro fastener needs to increase with an increase in the gas pressure in theupper section 5. When the pressure in thelower section 6 becomes higher than that in the upper section by a predetermined value or larger, on the other hand, the engagement of theend portion 7 with theair bag 3 by means of the Velcro fastener should be released, so that the upper andlower sections - Instead of using tentative sewing or Velcro fastener as described above, a
valve 14 that restricts gas flow from theupper section 5 into thelower section 6 may be provided on thepartition wall 4, as shown in FIG. 3, so that theupper section 5 and thelower section 6 communicate with each other when the pressure in thelower section 6 becomes higher than that in theupper section 5 by a predetermined value or greater. - In the illustrated embodiment, the
lower inflator 9 is totally inhibited from operating when thepassenger 12 is using the seat belt. It is, however, possible to allow thelower inflator 9 to emit a small amount of gas provided that the gas flowing into thelower section 6 does not result in an excessively large restraining force applied to the chest of thepassenger 12. - While the
air bag 3 is divided into two sections, namely,upper section 5 andlower section 6, in the illustrated embodiment, theair bag 3 may be divided into three or more sections, and the amount of gas supplied to each section may be controlled in response to a signal indicative of the result of detection of the seat belt sensor. - While the air bag system is installed in front of the passenger seat in the illustrated embodiment, the present invention is equally applicable to air bag systems installed on the side of the driver's seat or rear seat.
Claims (22)
Applications Claiming Priority (2)
Application Number | Priority Date | Filing Date | Title |
---|---|---|---|
JP36192697A JP3296279B2 (en) | 1997-12-10 | 1997-12-10 | Vehicle airbag device |
JP9-361926 | 1997-12-10 |
Publications (2)
Publication Number | Publication Date |
---|---|
US6276716B1 US6276716B1 (en) | 2001-08-21 |
US20010015546A1 true US20010015546A1 (en) | 2001-08-23 |
Family
ID=18475320
Family Applications (1)
Application Number | Title | Priority Date | Filing Date |
---|---|---|---|
US09/209,742 Expired - Lifetime US6276716B1 (en) | 1997-12-10 | 1998-12-10 | Air bag system for motor vehicle, and method of controlling the same |
Country Status (5)
Country | Link |
---|---|
US (1) | US6276716B1 (en) |
EP (1) | EP0922616B1 (en) |
JP (1) | JP3296279B2 (en) |
KR (1) | KR100284858B1 (en) |
DE (1) | DE69816572T2 (en) |
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WO2014134365A1 (en) * | 2013-02-28 | 2014-09-04 | Tk Holdings Inc. | Dual chambered passenger airbag |
US20140265278A1 (en) * | 2013-03-14 | 2014-09-18 | Tk Holdings Inc. | Dual Chambered Passenger Airbag |
WO2014152988A1 (en) * | 2013-03-14 | 2014-09-25 | Tk Holdings Inc. | Dual chambered passenger airbag |
CN104691487A (en) * | 2013-12-03 | 2015-06-10 | 福特全球技术公司 | Head, torso and knee combo airbag |
US9266493B2 (en) | 2013-04-10 | 2016-02-23 | Tk Holdings Inc. | Two-way valve for multi-chambered airbags |
US9381885B2 (en) | 2013-03-01 | 2016-07-05 | Tk Holdings Inc. | Tether airbag control system |
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- 1998-11-19 EP EP98121995A patent/EP0922616B1/en not_active Expired - Fee Related
- 1998-12-10 KR KR1019980054086A patent/KR100284858B1/en not_active IP Right Cessation
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Also Published As
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KR19990062955A (en) | 1999-07-26 |
US6276716B1 (en) | 2001-08-21 |
KR100284858B1 (en) | 2001-04-02 |
DE69816572D1 (en) | 2003-08-28 |
EP0922616B1 (en) | 2003-07-23 |
DE69816572T2 (en) | 2004-03-04 |
JPH11170956A (en) | 1999-06-29 |
JP3296279B2 (en) | 2002-06-24 |
EP0922616A3 (en) | 2001-08-08 |
EP0922616A2 (en) | 1999-06-16 |
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