Patent ID: 7766378
Filing Date: 2010-08-03
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
1. A head-protecting airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag for being folded and housed in an upper periphery of a window inside a vehicle that has a rear pillar and a window adjoining the rear pillar in front of the rear pillar; a pillar garnish being provided to cover an interior side of the rear pillar; and an airbag cover, the airbag pushing and opening the airbag cover and being deployable downward to cover the window when fed with inflation gas, the airbag being attachable to a vehicle body at an upper edge thereof, the airbag having: a rear inflatable portion disposed at a rear area of the airbag, the rear inflatable portion for being housed in the vicinity of an upper area of the rear pillar and arranged to get over an upper end of the pillar garnish when covering the interior side of the rear pillar while pushing and opening the airbag cover, and arranged to deploy to cover interior sides of the rear pillar and the window adjoining the rear pillar in front of the rear pillar at full inflation of the airbag; and a gas feed passage arranged along a longitudinal direction of the vehicle at an upper edge of the airbag in front of the rear inflatable portion for supplying inflation gas to a rear region of the airbag, the rear inflatable portion comprising: an upper side portion extending from the gas feed passage to a rear end of the airbag along the longitudinal direction at an upper edge region of the rear inflatable portion; a main body disposed below the upper side portion, the main body being deployed to cover the interior sides of the rear pillar and the window adjoining the rear pillar in front of the rear pillar; a partitioning portion extending continuously forward from a rear edge of the airbag for partitioning the upper side portion and the main body; and a branched portion disposed in a region from a front edge to a lower edge of the rear inflatable portion and in front of the main body, the branched portion being deployed in front of the rear pillar and below a lower edge of the airbag cover disposed on the upper periphery of the window adjoining the rear pillar in front of the rear pillar at full inflation of the airbag, and the branched portion including an opening for admitting inflation gas flowing downward from the gas feed passage at the front of a front end of the partitioning portion and below a rear end of the gas feed passage, the main body is formed to admit inflation gas from an inlet opening disposed at a rear edge of the branched portion, between a front end area of the partitioning portion and a lower edge of the airbag in the lower edge of the rear inflatable portion, a whole lower edge, or a part of a front end area of the lower edge, of the upper side portion is located below a parting line between the upper end of the pillar garnish and the lower edge of the airbag cover on a vehicle cabin side before the airbag cover is opened, at full inflation of the airbag, and the upper side portion and the gas feed passage are folded and housed at an exterior side of the folded-up main body and branched portion such that the main body is pushed out toward an interior of the vehicle getting over the upper end of the pillar garnish by the upper side portion and the gas feed passage upon airbag deployment.