Patent ID: 6375214
Filing Date: 2002-04-23
Classification: B60R

Abstract:
In an occupant protection device of a vehicle, said vehicle including a front side pillar and a rear side pillar disposed on front and rear sides of a side window of said vehicle respectively, and a roof side rail longitudinally extended to connect respective upper ends of said pillars; said occupant protection device comprising;an airbag folded and housed in a range from said front side pillar to said rear side pillar through said roof side rail so that said airbag is expanded to cover an inside of said side window when an impact load is acted on a side of said vehicle, an upper edge of said airbag fixed to at least said roof side rail; a front connecting member for connecting a front lower end of said airbag to a body of said vehicle positioned frontward of said side window; a rear connecting member for connecting a rear lower end of said airbag to the body of said vehicle positioned rearward of said side window; and a slack absorbing device attached to at least one of said front and rear connecting members for absorbing a slack in said connecting members in an expanded condition of said airbag; said slack absorbing device including an expanding portion which is formed in at least one of the front and rear ends of said airbag and is expanded in the expanded condition of said airbag, a hole formed in said airbag positioned in a central direction more than said expanding portion with laterally penetrating said airbag, and at least one of said connecting members includes an end which is passed through said hole from either side of said expanding portion to the opposite side of said expanding portion and fixed at said opposite side of said expanding portion and wound around said opposite side of said expanding portion.