Patent ID: 8033568
Filing Date: 2011-10-11
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A head-protecting airbag adapted to be mounted on an upper periphery of a window of a vehicle inside the vehicle for deployment downward to cover the window, the airbag comprising: a gas admissive portion inflatable with inflation gas by separating an inner panel and an outer panel, the gas admissive portion including: a primary inflatable portion inflatable in an early stage of airbag deployment, the primary inflatable portion including a protection portion that receives and protects a head of an occupant and a conduit that is tubular in shape and extends from the protection portion along an anteroposterior direction of the airbag, the conduit being located in an upper area of the airbag away from a lower periphery of the airbag; and a secondary inflatable portion that is communicated with the primary inflatable portion by the conduit and admits inflation gas from the primary inflatable portion for restraining a pressure increase of the primary inflatable portion, the secondary inflatable portion being located adjacent the protection portion of the primary inflatable portion in an anteroposterior direction of the airbag at full deployment, and a non-admissive portion that admits no inflation gas and keeps the inner panel and outer panel attached together, the non-admissive portion including: a peripheral portion located on an outer periphery of the gas admissive portion; and a partitioning portion that defines boundaries of the secondary inflatable portion and the conduit, wherein the protection portion includes: an inlet-side inflatable portion located proximate an inlet port of the conduit, the inlet-side inflatable portion including an opposing region that is communicated with and adjacent the inlet port of the conduit in an anteroposterior direction and a lower extending region that extends downward from the opposing region; and a lower inflatable portion that is partitioned from the conduit by the partitioning portion and located below the conduit between the conduit and a bottom area of the peripheral portion, the lower inflatable portion being communicated with the lower extending region so as to be inflatable generally simultaneously with the inlet-side inflatable portion upon inflation of the primary inflatable portion and having a dimension in a vertical direction over an entire area below the conduit in a flattened and uninflated state of the airbag that is greater than a dimension in the vertical direction of the conduit, wherein: the partitioning portion includes an upper boundary portion that defines an upper boundary of the conduit and a lower boundary portion that defines a lower boundary of the conduit with the lower inflatable portion; the inlet-side inflatable portion further includes an upper extending region that extends upward from the opposing region; and the primary inflatable portion further includes an upper inflatable portion located above the conduit and partitioned from the conduit by the upper boundary portion, the upper inflatable portion being communicated with the upper extending region so as to be inflatable generally simultaneously with the inlet-side inflatable portion and lower inflatable portion upon inflation of the primary inflatable portion and having the dimension in the vertical direction in the flattened and uninflated state of the airbag that is greater than that of the conduit over an entire area above the conduit, there being only one of the conduit included in the primary inflatable portion, the conduit being located in front of the secondary inflatable portion, the inlet port of the conduit being located at a front end of the conduit for admitting inflation gas from the opposing region of the inlet-side inflatable portion, the conduit including, at a rear end thereof, an outlet port that feeds the inflation gas to the secondary inflatable portion, the secondary inflatable portion inflates with the inflation gas fed from the conduit after the upper inflatable portion, the inlet-side inflatable portion and the lower inflatable portion complete inflation.