Patent ID: 8485549

Claim:
An airbag apparatus mountable on a vehicle having a side window, a first pillar adjoining the window and a second pillar adjoining the window on the opposite side, the airbag apparatus comprising an airbag adapted to be housed in an upper edge of the window and deployable downward when fed with an inflation gas, the airbag including a shutter section that covers the window on an inboard side thereof and includes: a plurality of mounting portions that are formed on an upper edge of the shutter section and serve to mount the shutter section on a vehicle body structure, the mounting portions being located at least above and in vicinities of the first and second pillars; an inflatable region that inflates in a vehicle width direction, the inflatable region includes: a first pillar side inflatable region that extends vertically and covers the first pillar; a supporting inflatable region that extends from a lower end of the first pillar side inflatable region, the supporting inflatable region abutting against an interior surface of the vehicle body structure below a beltline of the vehicle by its outboard surface and is thereby supported by the interior surface at airbag deployment; and a preventing inflatable region that extends upward from the supporting inflatable region and is in gas communication with the supporting inflatable region for admitting the inflation gas from the supporting inflatable region, the preventing inflatable region being located in a vicinity of a downstream end of an inflation gas channel of the airbag and including an upper end directed toward the mounting portion located above the second pillar; and a thin panel region that is formed into a thin panel recessing in an outboard direction relative to the inflatable region at airbag deployment, the thin panel region being located between the first pillar side inflatable region and the preventing inflatable region and above the supporting inflatable region, and defining an occupant catching point configured to catch a vehicle occupant that is operative during a rollover event of the vehicle, wherein the supporting inflatable region and preventing inflatable region surround the occupant catching point continuously at the lower side and on a side of the second pillar, and wherein the mounting portions located above and in the vicinities of the first and second pillars, the first pillar side inflatable region, the supporting inflatable region, the preventing inflatable region and the thin panel region being configured as in combination an occupant ejection preventing element configured to prevent an occupant from ejecting out of the window that is operative during a rollover event of the vehicle.