Claims
- 1. A front passenger's seat airbag system of the top-mount type arranged in an instrument panel below a windshield, comprising:
a door arranged on the upper face of said instrument panel; a case; and an airbag housed and held in a folded state in said case and including a gas inlet port for injecting an inflating gas thereinto, so that said airbag is expanded, by injecting the inflating gas into said gas inlet port, towards the rear of a vehicle along said windshield while opening said door, wherein said airbag further includes a commutator cloth arranged so as to cover said gas inlet port and to close the two sides in the transverse direction of the vehicle, and to open the two sides in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
- 2. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 1, wherein the openings, as formed by said commutator cloth, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are so set that the front side opening has a larger area than that of the rear side opening.
- 3. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 2, wherein the area of said rear side opening is 50% to 75% as large as the area of said front side opening.
- 4. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 1, wherein said airbag is housed in said case by folding the ceiling wall side of said airbag confronting said gas inlet port to closely approach said gas inlet port, subsequently by longitudinally folding the two left and right edges to closely approach the vicinity of the center, and further by transversely folding the longitudinal edges perpendicular to the transverse direction to closely approach the vicinity of the center.
- 5. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 4, wherein said longitudinal folding is a bellows-type folding, and
wherein said transverse folding is an externally rolled-folding, in which such that its front edge is externally rolled such that its front edge is rolled towards the center side of said ceiling wall portion, whereas its rear edge is folded into a bellows-like shape.
- 6. A front passenger's seat airbag system arranged in an instrument panel, comprising:
a door arranged on the upper face of said instrument panel; a case; and an airbag housed and held in a folded state in said case and including: a gas inlet port for injecting an inflating gas thereinto; and a ceiling wall portion confronting said gas inlet port, so that said airbag is expanded, by injecting the inflating gas into said gas inlet port, towards the rear of a vehicle while opening said door, wherein said airbag is housed in said case by folding said ceiling wall side of said airbag to closely approach said gas inlet port, subsequently by transversely folding the two edges perpendicular to the transverse direction to closely approach the vicinity of the center, and further by longitudinally folding the left and right edges to closely approach the vicinity of the center.
- 7. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 6, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the edge of the portion on the front side of the vehicle is externally rolled toward the center side of said ceiling wall portion.
- 8. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 7, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the portion on the rear side of the vehicle is folded into a bellows-like shape.
- 9. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 8, wherein when said airbag is longitudinally folded, its left and right edges are folded either in an internally rolled manner, in which they are rolled towards said gas inlet port, or in a modified internally rolled manners, in which the left and right edges are folded towards said gas inlet port, and in which the folded portions are placed on the center of said ceiling wall portion.
- 10. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 6, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the edge of the portion on the rear side of the vehicle is internally rolled toward said gas inlet port.
- 11. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 10, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the portion on the front side of the vehicle is folded into a bellows-like shape.
- 12. A front passenger's seat airbag system arranged in an instrument panel, comprising:
a door arranged on the upper face of said instrument panel; a case; and an airbag housed and held in a folded state in said case and including: a gas inlet port for injecting an inflating gas thereinto; and a ceiling wall portion confronting said gas inlet port, so that said airbag is expanded, by injecting the inflating gas into said gas inlet port, towards the rear of a vehicle while opening said door, wherein said airbag further includes a commutator cloth arranged to cover said gas inlet port, wherein said airbag is housed in said case by folding said ceiling wall side of said airbag to be closer to said gas inlet port, subsequently by transversely folding the two edges, as perpendicular to the transverse direction, to be closer to the vicinity of the center, and further by longitudinally folding the left and right edges to be closer to the vicinity of the center, and wherein said commutator cloth is arranged to close the two sides in the transverse direction of the vehicle, and to open the two sides in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle.
- 13. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 12, wherein at the time of transverse folding of said airbag, the front of the portion on the front side of the vehicle is externally rolled toward the center side of said ceiling wall portion.
- 14. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 13, wherein at the time of transverse folding of said airbag, the portion on the rear side of the vehicle is folded into a bellows-like shape.
- 15. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 14, wherein when said airbag is longitudinally folded, its left and right edges are folded either in an internally rolled manner, in which they are rolled towards said gas inlet port, or in a modified internally rolled manner, in which the left and right edges are folded towards said gas inlet port, and in which the folded portions are placed on the center of said ceiling wall portion.
- 16. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 12, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the edge of the portion on the rear side of the vehicle is internally rolled toward said gas inlet port.
- 17. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 16, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the portion on the front side of the vehicle is folded into a bellows-like shape.
- 18. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 12, wherein when said airbag is transversely folded, the edge of the portion on the front side of the vehicle is externally rolled toward the center side of said ceiling wall portion, and
wherein when said airbag is longitudinally folded, the left and right edges are folded in an internally rolled manner, in which they are rolled toward said gas inlet port.
- 19. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 12, wherein when said airbag is transversely rolled, its two edges are both rolled.
- 20. A front passenger's seat airbag system according to claim 12, wherein the openings, as formed by said commutator cloth, in the longitudinal direction of the vehicle are so set:
that the area ratio of the front side opening to the rear side opening is made to be larger as the extruding direction to open said door at the time of expansion comes closer to a vertical direction; that the area of the front side opening is made more approximate to the area of the rear side opening as the extruding direction to open said door at the time of expansion comes closer to a horizontal direction; and that the area of the front side opening is made equivalent to the area of the rear side opening when the extruding direction to open said door at the time of expansion is horizontal.
Priority Claims (1)
Number |
Date |
Country |
Kind |
HEI 10-82191 |
Mar 1998 |
JP |
|
Parent Case Info
[0001] This is a Divisional Application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/712,183, that was filed on Nov. 15, 2000, which is a divisional application of U.S. Ser. No. 09/188,573, that was filed on Nov. 10, 1998 and issued as U.S. Pat. No. 6,170,857 on Jan. 9, 2001, both said applications to be incorporated in their entirety by reference.
Divisions (2)
|
Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
09712183 |
Nov 2000 |
US |
Child |
10020939 |
Dec 2001 |
US |
Parent |
09188573 |
Nov 1998 |
US |
Child |
09712183 |
Nov 2000 |
US |