Patent ID: 7793977

Claim:
A side airbag apparatus comprising an airbag that is inflated and deployed in a space between a body side portion of a vehicle and an occupant seated on a seat located in a passenger compartment by the pressure of gas discharged from a gas generator, in which prior to being deployed the airbag apparatus is accommodated in the seat with the airbag being folded, the airbag having a thickness along the width of the vehicle when inflated and deployed, the airbag having a tether that limits the thickness of the airbag when the airbag is inflated and deployed, the airbag having a pair of inner surfaces that face each other along the direction of the thickness of the airbag, and the tether bridging the inner surfaces of the airbag, wherein a vehicle exterior joint portion, which couples the tether to the inner surface of the airbag located close to an inner surface of the body side portion, is located closer to a center of the airbag than a vehicle interior joint portion, which couples the tether to the inner surface of the airbag located far from the inner surface of the body side portion, the center of the airbag being determined with respect to an up-down direction of the airbag, wherein, when the inflated airbag is viewed from the front, a cross-sectional area of an upper portion of the airbag located above the tether from a top of the airbag to the tether, is larger than the cross-sectional area of a lower portion of the airbag below the tether from the tether to a bottom of the airbag, wherein, when inflated and deployed, the airbag includes a part below the tether and a part above the tether, the tether being tensioned in such a manner that the vehicle exterior joint portion is located above the vehicle interior joint portion, the part above the tether being inclined toward the body side portion of the vehicle.