Vehicle occupant restraint device

A vehicle occupant restraint device includes an airbag that is provided in a shoulder belt position of a seat belt while being folded in a belt-like shape to be capable of inflating upon receiving a predetermined actuating signal, and the seat belt is wound by a single winding device. The airbag is folded to surround a slide guide including a hard member having seat-belt passing portions arranged at predetermined intervals in an insertion direction of webbing and a soft member supporting the hard member. The airbag smoothly slides along the webbing through the slide guide when the seat belt is pulled out.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application is a U.S. national stage application of International Patent Application No. PCT/JP2015/058728, filed Mar. 23, 2015, which claims the benefit of priority to Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-122938, filed Jun. 14, 2014, the entireties of which are hereby incorporated by reference.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present invention relates to a vehicle occupant restraint device, and more particularly, to a vehicle occupant restraint device that detects the collision of a vehicle so as to be effective in restraining an occupant by causing an airbag which is folded inside a seat belt to be inflated from the chest to the shoulder.

BACKGROUND ART

As a vehicle occupant restraint device for protecting an occupant from two types of accidents such as a frontal collision and a lateral collision with one product, there has been developed an air belt device in which an airbag accommodated in a shoulder belt of a seat belt is inflated around a shoulder top from a chest in the event of a vehicle collision, thus restraining an occupant.

This air belt device is operated such that an airbag is inflated along a shoulder belt fastened to an occupant in a substantially spindle shape, and the airbag in the belt is directly inflated in the event of the frontal collision, thus increasing a contact area with an occupant's chest, distributing and cushioning impacts applied to the chest. In the event of the lateral collision, an inflated portion of the airbag restrains a region extending from a shoulder top to a temporal region of an occupant, and controls a lateral movement amount of a head, thus preventing a secondary collision due to a side window or an interior structure of a vehicle.

When this air belt device is operated by one retractor, it is necessary to pull out and take up the shoulder belt accommodating the air belt and a lap belt interposing a tongue plate therebetween. Particularly when webbing is pulled out from the retractor, the air belt portion needs to smoothly slide against the webbing such that the air belt portion (a portion of the shoulder belt) having a tongue in which the tongue plate and a gas supply hole are formed in an end thereof is provided at a proper position in a region from the chest to the shoulder while a predetermined amount of lap belt portion is pulled out.

In Patent Literature 1, there is disclosed a seat belt device having a flat tube made of a synthetic resin material and interposed between an airbag body and webbing. In Patent Literature 1, there are disclosed various kinds of tubes that are variously adjusted in rigidity (longitudinal and width directions of the tube) so as to ensure follow-up properties and flexibility when the webbing is pulled out while reducing the sliding resistance of the webbing that has been inserted into and passed through the flat tube. In Patent Literature 1,FIG. 4illustrates a section of the device when the tube is integrally coupled with the airbag body. The airbag is inflated from the accommodated state ofFIG. 4in the event of a collision, between an occupant restrained by the seat belt and an interior structure of the vehicle. Therefore, a secondary collision between an occupant and the interior structure of the vehicle, such as a steering wheel or a dashboard, is prevented.

An applicant has proposed a vehicle occupant restraint device that overcomes the problems of the seat belt device disclosed in Patent Literature 1, and adopts a slide guide having sufficient rigidity by combining a high rigidity region and a low rigidity region to webbing, thus allowing the webbing to be smoothly pulled out and mounted while a seat belt is fit for an occupant's body type when he or she fastens the seat belt (Patent Literature 2).

CITATION LIST

Patent Literature

SUMMARY OF INVENTION

Technical Problem

The seat belt device described in Patent Literature 1 is disposed with various openings or notches in surfaces of the above-described various flat tubes so as to reduce rigidity in two directions, namely, a longitudinal direction and a width direction, so that the rigidity of the tube in the width direction is easily reduced. Therefore, this seat belt device is problematic in that, when an occupant holds an air belt portion and pulls the air belt out from a retractor so as to fasten the seat belt, the tube is deformed to cause the webbing to be rolled up, or is pushed in a thickness direction to come into contact with the tube and thereby fit the webbing therebetween, thus consequently increasing sliding resistance when the seat belt is pulled out.

Further, this seat belt device is operated such that the seat belt directly restrains an occupant's chest, and an inflated airbag independently restrains the occupant from being moved forwards. Therefore, until the forward movement of the occupant is restrained by the airbag, the restraint of his or her chest by the seat belt is likely to increase more than necessary.

The invention disclosed in Patent Literature 2 solves the problems occurring in Patent Literature 1. However, the invention disclosed in Patent Literature 2 is configured such that a region through which the webbing is inserted and passes desirably includes a high rigidity region, because sliding resistance of resin used for the low rigidity region among the slide guide having both the high and low rigidity regions increases. Further, it is necessary to ensure the strength of a coupling region between the high and low rigidity regions and improve durability. In addition, it is preferable to reduce the weight of members and enhance the assemblability of parts, in order to guarantee comfortability when the air belt device is fastened or to reduce the manufacturing cost of the air belt device.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to solve the problems occurring in the related art, and is to provide a vehicle occupant restraint device, including a slide guide which has high rigidity in a width direction and a thickness direction of webbing, has low rigidity in a longitudinal direction thereof, and is manufactured in light weight and at low cost, thus allowing an air belt device to be smoothly moved along the webbing, enabling the air belt device to be properly fastened to an occupant's chest, and allowing his or her chest to be restrained without being locally compressed when the airbag is inflated.

Solution to Problem

In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized by being provided with a vehicle occupant restraint device including an airbag that is provided in a shoulder belt position of a seat belt to be capable of inflating upon receiving a predetermined actuating signal, the seat belt being wound by a single winding device, wherein the airbag is folded to surround a slide guide including a high rigidity region and a low rigidity region, the high rigidity region having seat-belt passing portions arranged at predetermined intervals in an insertion direction of the seat belt, the low rigidity region supporting the high rigidity region, and the airbag slides along the seat belt through the slide guide when the seat belt is pulled out.

It is preferable that the high rigidity region is a cylindrical member that is made of a hard member and has seat-belt passage openings arranged at a predetermined interval along a soft member as the low rigidity region extending in a longitudinal direction of the airbag.

It is preferable that the soft member is a strip-shaped cloth member, and is connected to an outer surface of the hard member by bonding, welding or sewing.

It is preferable that the soft member is a line-shaped member, and is connected to the hard member in a line-shaped member attachment region formed in a portion of the hard member.

It is preferable that wherein the soft member is a tether which restricts inflation of the airbag, or an airbag body.

It is preferable that the high rigidity region of the slide guide is a molded body made of a hard resin material, and the low rigidity region thereof is a molded body made of a soft resin material.

It is preferable that the slide guide is a molded product obtained by two-color molding of the hard resin material and the soft resin material.

It is preferable that the molded product of the hard resin material of the slide guide and the molded product of the soft resin material thereof are connected to each other by a mechanical connecting unit.

It is preferable that the mechanical connecting unit is either of a caulking structure or a fitting structure.

Advantageous Effects of Invention

According to the present invention, it is possible to manufacture the slide guide, in light weight and at low cost, which allows an air belt portion to smoothly slide along a shoulder belt upon pulling out webbing when an occupant wears a seat belt, and it is possible to sufficiently ensure comfortability when the seat belt is fastened due to the performance of a product, whereby it is possible to fasten the air belt device at a proper position.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

Hereinafter, an embodiment for carrying out a vehicle occupant restraint device of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1is a perspective view schematically illustrating a state in which an occupant seat1is equipped with a vehicle occupant restraint device10of the present invention (hereinafter also referred to as an air belt device10in the present invention). As illustrated in the drawing, a seat belt3pulled out from a retractor2is bent towards a tongue4, and is anchored at an end thereof to an anchor plate6. This anchor plate6is fixed to a fixing part of a vehicular body through a fixing bolt5. Further, in the following description, the term “seat belt” means a case of restraining an occupant or obtaining a restraint function, or a region (e.g. a shoulder belt, etc.) associated therewith. The term “webbing” means a woven cloth strip constituting the seat belt that is wound on the retractor and is pulled out by a predetermined pulling force.

As illustrated inFIG. 1, the retractor2is accommodated in a B pillar or a seat back1B, and is fixed at a predetermined position. The webbing W is wound while retaining a predetermined tension at a seat side when an occupant sits initially. The webbing W is divided into a shoulder belt3S and a lap belt3L, based on a position of the tongue4. The webbing W forming the lap belt3L is a portion that is wound on the retractor2except when in use. When an occupant sits in the seat, pulls the webbing W out from the retractor2and then draws the tongue4to a buckle9, as illustrated inFIG. 1, the portion of the lap belt3L is ensured. At this time, the occupant holds the webbing W located in his or her side and pulls it out from the retractor2while sitting in the seat. This position corresponds to the air belt11of the shoulder belt3S in which the airbag20is folded and accommodated. An object of the present invention is to prevent the webbing W from being rolled up even if the webbing W is held when the air belt11is pulled out. A configuration for realizing this object will be described below with reference toFIGS. 4 to 8.

Another configuration of the air belt device10illustrated inFIG. 1will be described in detail. A shoulder anchor7is installed at an upper end of a right shoulder side of the seat back1B. The shoulder anchor7is usually formed on an upper portion of a B pillar or an upper end of the seat back1B, so that a direction of the shoulder belt3S is changed through the shoulder anchor7and thereby the shoulder belt is guided into the retractor2. Meanwhile, as illustrated inFIG. 2in an extracted state, the air belt11(its configuration will be described later) is mounted on the webbing W forming the shoulder belt3S. As illustrated inFIGS. 1 and 2, the end of the air belt11of the present invention is shaped such that the tongue4and the lap anchor8are integrated. A gas supply pipe4aand a tongue plate4bare formed on the tongue4made of a synthetic resin material. The gas supply pipe4ais a metallic cylindrical member, and a gas supply path in the tongue4communicating with the gas supply pipe4ais airtightly connected to a gas inlet port20alocated at an end of a bag body24of the airbag20illustrated inFIG. 3.

FIG. 1further illustrates the buckle9intended to retain the gas supply pipe4aand the tongue plate4bof the tongue4. This buckle9is fixed to the fixing part of the vehicular body on the seat side through a bracket9a, using a fixing member such as a bolt or the like. A tongue-plate support hole9band a gas-supply-pipe connection hole9aare formed in the buckle9, and the tongue plate4band the gas supply pipe4aare simultaneously inserted into the respective holes of the buckle9when the tongue4is fastened. A gas outlet port of an inflator G externally attached to the buckle9communicates with the connection hole into which the gas supply pipe4ais inserted. Thus, in the event of a collision or the like, if an actuating signal is sent to the inflator G, an ignition agent in the inflator G is ignited, so that gas is jetted from the gas outlet port of the inflator G, and the airbag20(seeFIG. 3) is inflated, through the gas supply pipe4a, in a substantially spindle shape along the shoulder belt3S worn by an occupant. At this time, the airbag has a section that is flat and substantially elliptical, when viewed from line Va-Va ofFIG. 1(seeFIG. 5A). Therefore, the webbing W may properly restrain a wide range from the chest to the shoulder of an occupant (inFIG. 1, the inflated shape is shown by an imaginary line).

In this regard, the configuration of the air belt11that is slidably mounted to the webbing W of the shoulder belt3S will be described with reference toFIGS. 2 and 3.FIG. 2is an external view illustrating the air belt11through which the webbing W of the shoulder belt3S is inserted and passes. The air belt11illustrated in the drawing accommodates multiple slide guides (configuration will be described later) arranged in the longitudinal direction of the webbing W, as a core member, the bag body24is folded in three to form an elongated shape along the webbing W, from a deployed state illustrated inFIG. 3, and then the entire part is covered with an outer cover21. The outer cover21is made by sewing cloth in a cylindrical shape, and sewing yarn is cut at predetermined spots during an operation, so that a portion of the outer cover21is opened and the airbag20inflated from that portion is exposed.

An opening guide ring22made of a polyurethane resin material is attached to an opening formed in each of opposite ends of the outer cover21. This opening guide ring22is rarely deformed because of high rigidity, and the webbing W may easily slide and the sliding resistance of the webbing W is also reduced at the time of being pulled out because the shape of the flat opening is retained.

Although various shapes have been proposed for the airbag20functioning as the air belt11, a deployed state of an example of the airbag shape is illustrated inFIG. 3. Since this airbag20forms a sectional shape ofFIG. 4in a folded state and an end23aof a longitudinal tether23is sewn in the longitudinal direction of the bag body24, the airbag is inflated in the shape of a section that is flat and substantially elliptical, as illustrated inFIG. 5A. Thus, even if tension acting on the webbing W increases when the airbag20is inflated between an occupant and the webbing W and the seat belt is introduced, the occupant P is not locally tightened by the webbing W, and, as illustrated inFIG. 5B, pressing force from the webbing W acts on a wide range including the chest and the waist of the occupant P, through the airbag20located between the occupant P and the webbing W.

As illustrated inFIG. 3, the airbag20functioning as the air belt11is slidably retained at a portion of the shoulder belt3S by inserting the webbing W into slits25of two spots formed in the vicinity of an end of the airbag20in the longitudinal direction thereof. As illustrated in the drawing, the air belt11(seeFIG. 2) is shaped as follows: the webbing W is inserted into the slide guide30having predetermined rigidity and bending flexibility, the airbag20on each side of the webbing W is folded to surround the slide guide30, thereby being covered with the mesh webbing and the outer cover21.

To be more specific, the sectional configuration of the air belt11and advantages that may be obtained, upon being inflated or restraining the occupant, due to the sectional configuration will be described with reference toFIGS. 4 and 5. As illustrated inFIG. 4, the slide guide30includes hard members31as a high rigidity region and a soft member32as a low rigidity region. The hard members define a space to cause the webbing W to be inserted and passed therein. The soft member retains multiple hard members31, extending in the longitudinal direction of the webbing W, at predetermined intervals, and allows the webbing W to be freely bent in the longitudinal direction. Further, the airbag20is attached to the occupant P side of the slide guide30through the soft member32, and is folded in an elongated manner to surround the slide guide30with the airbag20extending to each side of the slide guide30, and then is entirely covered with the outer cover21. Thus, the slide guide30is made by integrating the high rigidity region that causes the webbing W to pass therethrough with the low rigidity region that is freely bent to fit for the body type of the occupant, and then is arranged over a predetermined range of the airbag20in the longitudinal direction thereof, thus allowing the folded bag body24to smoothly slide along the webbing W.

Since the airbag20is fixed to the occupant's side of the slide guide30and is folded to surround the slide guide30, in the event of a collision, as illustrated inFIG. 5A, the webbing W is introduced to restrain the occupant P, and simultaneously, the airbag20is inflated between the webbing W and the occupant P while forming a predetermined flat shape. If an introduced amount of the webbing W increases in the state where the airbag20is inflated, as illustrated inFIG. 5B, a contact degree to the occupant P increases as the airbag20is deformed, and the effect of restraining the occupant may increase. Preferably, the slide guide30efficiently converts the increased tension of the webbing W into a pressing force in a direction (occupant direction) shown by an outline arrow in the drawing. However, even if the tension of the webbing W is increased by the high rigidity region having sufficient rigidity, the sectional deformation of the slide guide30is kept small, and the pressing force is distributed over the airbag20, so that it is possible to restrain the occupant P in a wide surface of the airbag20.

Hereinafter, the configuration of the slide guide30contributing to the slide behavior of the webbing W, a deformation behavior and the like will be described with reference toFIGS. 6 to 10. The slide guide30includes hard members31as a high rigidity region and a soft member32as a low rigidity region. The hard members define a space to cause the webbing W to be inserted and passed therein. The soft member retains multiple hard members31, extending in the longitudinal direction of the webbing W, at predetermined intervals, and allows the webbing W to be freely bent in the longitudinal direction.

The present embodiment illustrated inFIGS. 6 to 10employs a square column member as the hard member31. The square column member has a seat-belt passage opening, an inner dimension of which is slightly larger than a width of the webbing W, is chamfered at a corner in a flat and round shape that is about 1.5 cm in a longitudinal direction thereof, and has a predetermined rigidity. The hard member31of such a shape has a high rigidity in the width direction of the webbing W, and an interval between neighboring hard members31in the longitudinal direction of the webbing W is set to 1 cm or less. In this embodiment, polyurethane resin is used as a resin material forming the hard member31. In addition, as an appropriate material, polyester elastomer, polyamide resin, hard polyurethane resin, polyester resin, metal plate or the like may be used.

Embodiments illustrated inFIGS. 6 to 10employ, as the soft member32, an elongated strip-shaped member and line-shaped member, the width of which is substantially equal to that of the webbing W. In order to function as a configuration of the slide guide30, the soft member is fixed in a range in the longitudinal direction of the tether23illustrated inFIG. 3by bonding or sewing. According to the present embodiment, it is preferable to employ cloth having flexibility or a thin plate of synthetic resin, as the strip-shaped member constituting the soft member32.FIGS. 6A, 6B-1 and 6B-2illustrate an example where cloth is used as the strip-shaped member that is the soft member. Where the cloth is employed as the soft member32, the tether23or a base fabric for airbag is used. Woven cloth of polyamide fiber is preferably used as a material of the tether23or the base fabric for airbag.FIGS. 7A, 7B-1, 7B-2, 7B-3, 7B-4, 7C-1 and 7C-2illustrate an example using a synthetic resin plate as the strip-shaped member that is the soft member. A representative example of the synthetic resin material includes polyester elastomer. In addition, soft polyurethane resin, silicone elastomer, rubber (synthetic and natural) or the like may be used as a proper material.FIGS. 8A, 8B-1, 8B-2, and 8B-3illustrate examples using various metal wires, synthetic resin wire, and synthetic fiber wire as well as steel stranded wire having both flexibility and rigidity, as the line-shaped member that is the soft member32.

[Attaching Structure of Soft Member and Hard Member]

Hereinafter, the configuration of respective members will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings (FIGS. 6 to 10).

The slide guide illustrated inFIG. 6Ais configured such that the square column member31(hereinafter, this member will be denoted by reference numeral31) made of a hard resin material as the hard member is directly attached to a strip-shaped cloth32(hereinafter, this will be denoted by reference numeral32) made of the same material as the base fabric for airbag or the tether as the soft member. As means for attaching each square column member31to the strip-shaped cloth32in a longitudinal direction thereof while maintaining a predetermined interval therebetween, bonding, welding (fusion) using the thermoplasticity of the hard resin material or the like are possible. Such an attaching structure is advantageous in that individual square column members31have only to be aligned on one piece of elongated cloth32for the purpose of integration, so that it is possible to manufacture a small number of light-weight slide guide30.FIG. 6B-1is a front view illustrating the slide guide30ofFIG. 6A, andFIG. 6B-2is a side view illustrating the slide guide30ofFIG. 6A. As illustrated in the drawings, since neighboring hard members are continuously arranged by cloth, it is possible to provide the slide guide30having very high flexibility. As will be described later with reference toFIG. 9, the cloth32may be directly used as the soft member for the tether23or the bag body24surrounding the airbag20. In that case, as compared to the cloth of a narrow width illustrated inFIG. 6A, it is difficult to attach the square column members31linearly in a row, but positioning may be facilitated by preparing a simple guide ruler.

FIGS. 7A, 7B-1, 7B-2, 7B-3, 7B-4, 7C-1 and 7C-2illustrate a structural example where the square column members31made of the hard resin material as a webbing sliding part disclosed in Patent Literature 2 and a base member34connecting the square column members31to be spaced apart from each other at a predetermined interval and made of the soft resin material are integrally formed, or the slide guide30manufactured by fitting is further improved.FIG. 7Ais an example where the square column members31made of the hard resin material and the base member34connecting the square column members31to each other and made of the soft resin material are formed in two-color molding, thus manufacturing the slide guide30. As illustrated inFIG. 7B-1, the hard resin material and the soft resin material are thermally fused to be simultaneously molded (two-color molding). This manufacturing method may achieve a reduction in multiple steps such as mold setting, in addition to increasing bonding strength between the hard resin material and the soft resin material. Further, the base member34is formed to be narrower than the square column member31, so that it is possible to obtain effects of reducing the entire weight of the slide guide30, improving flexibility, and reducing manufacturing cost.

FIG. 7B-2illustrates an example where the hard resin material is connected with the soft resin material by a mechanical coupling means. In this connection example, a base-member receiving recess31dand a connecting dowel31eare integrally formed on a bottom side of the square column member31, and a dowel fastening hole is formed at a predetermined position of the base member34. Further, it is possible to easily position the square column member31on the base member34by fitting the connecting dowel31einto the dowel fastening hole. A front end of the dowel31eprotruding from a lower surface of the base member34is thermally melted and crushed to be integrated with the base member34via a caulking structure, thus allowing the square column member31to be reliably secured to a predetermined position of the base member34.

FIGS. 7B-3 and 7B-4illustrate a connection example where a base-member receiving pocket31fis integrally formed on an external lower surface of the square column member31, and the base member34is received in the base-member receiving pocket31fto be retained. The base-member receiving pocket31fincludes a recess corresponding to the width and thickness of the base member34. The base member34may be slidably inserted from the slit31gof the base-member receiving pocket31finto the pocket. A locking claw31his formed on an end of the slit31gof the base-member receiving pocket31fillustrated inFIG. 7B-4. Therefore, this is higher in performance of retaining the base member34than the base-member receiving pocket31fofFIG. 7B-3. As illustrated inFIGS. 7C-1 and 7C-2, the positioning stopper34ais formed at every position of the base member34for fixing the square column member31. The positioning stopper34ais made by increasing a width of a portion of the base member34or increasing a plate thickness. The positioning stopper34aallows the attached position of the square column member31to be easily confirmed, and enhances the efficiency of work.

FIG. 8Aillustrates an embodiment using a line-shaped member as the soft member. The slide guide30of this embodiment is configured such that an insertion hole31ais formed in the bottom side of the square column member31as the hard member, one wire33is used as the line-shaped member, and multiple square column members31are arranged at predetermined positions on the wire33extending along the airbag20. The connecting structure of attaching the square column member31to the wire33may adopt the slide guide30formed as illustrated inFIG. 8B-1: when the square column member31having a wire attachment region31bis formed inside the bottom side of the square column member31, the wire33may be integrally embedded in the wire attachment region31b. In this case, since the wire33is integrated into the wire attachment region31bof the square column member31, the slide guide30may be manufactured in a single molding step. According to another structural example, as illustrated inFIG. 8B-2, the square column member31is molded such that the insertion hole31awhich is larger in diameter than the wire is previously formed in the wire attachment region31b, the wire33passes through the insertion hole31ain a next step, and consequently the square column members31may be fixedly produced at a predetermined interval in a predetermined range of the wire33. It is preferable to form a slit31ccommunicating with the wire insertion hole31ain an outer surface of the wire attachment region31b, as means for simply attaching the square column member31to the wire33. The wire33is accommodated in the wire insertion hole31athrough the slit31c. The wire33basically uses a steel stranded wire33of a small diameter as the line-shaped member, but a resin-coated steel stranded wire33may be preferably used to enhance durability. In order to reduce the weight of the slide guide30, a carbon-fiber wire33may be used. In the manufacture examples ofFIGS. 8B-2 and 8B-3, it is preferable to fix each square column member31to the wire33by filling a gap between the wire insertion hole31aand the wire33with an adhesive.

FIGS. 9, 10A and 10Billustrate modifications of the slide guide30illustrated inFIG. 6. The drawings illustrate a connection example where the strip-shaped cloth as the soft member illustrated inFIG. 6is omitted and the tether23for retaining a shape when the airbag is inflated is directly used as the soft member. That is, since the tether23performs the function of the low rigidity region, the low rigidity member, such as the cloth as the strip-shaped member or the wire33as the line-shaped member, may be omitted, and the weight of parts and manufacturing cost thereof may be reduced. As an actual slide guide30, the following configuration is employed as illustrated inFIG. 10A(having the substantially same configuration asFIG. 3): the square column members31as the hard member are aligned on and bonded to the surface of the tether23which is used to control the inflating shape of the airbag20, at a predetermined interval.

FIGS. 11A and 11Billustrate a modification of the slide guide30illustrated inFIG. 6. The drawings illustrate a connection example where the strip-shaped cloth as the soft member illustrated inFIG. 6is omitted and the bag body24of the airbag for retaining a shape when the airbag is inflated is directly used as the soft member. As illustrated inFIG. 11B, in this modification, the end23aof the tether23is sewn onto two spots of an upper surface of the airbag body24in a state of being illustrated in the drawing, and a central portion23bof the tether23is sewn onto one spot of a lower surface of the airbag body24, thus allowing the tether23to be placed in the bag body24. Therefore, the airbag body24itself may be the soft member. In the modifications illustrated inFIGS. 9, 10A, 10B, 11A and 11B, it is preferable to use a simple guide ruler or the like, in order to arrange and assemble the hard members, such as the square column members31, on the tether23and the bag body24linearly at a predetermined interval in a row.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICABILITY

Various embodiments and modifications of the present invention may be made without departing from the broad spirit and scope of the present invention. Further, the above-described embodiments are intended to describe the invention but are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention. That is, the scope of the present invention is defined not by the embodiments but by the accompanying claims. Various changes made within the scope of the claims and equivalence thereof will be considered to be within the scope of this invention.

This application claims priority from Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-122938 filed on Jun. 14, 2014. The entire contents including specification, claims, and drawings of Japanese Patent Application No. 2014-122938 are incorporated herein by reference.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST