Patents by Inventor Kazuaki Bito

Kazuaki Bito has filed for patents to protect the following inventions. This listing includes patent applications that are pending as well as patents that have already been granted by the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO).

  • Patent number: 10035488
    Abstract: An airbag apparatus includes a gas generator main body and an airbag. The gas generator main body includes a gas outlet portion, which includes gas discharging holes, and a non-outlet portion. The airbag includes an inflation portion, which is inflated by inflation gas, and a storage chamber, which is arranged outside the inflation portion and stores the gas generator main body. The storage chamber includes an insertion port for inserting the gas generator main body and a partition wall. The partition wall includes a pass-through portion through which the non-outlet portion is passed. The partition wall separates the storage chamber and the inflation portion from each other and restricts leakage of inflation gas in the inflation portion to the storage chamber through the gap between inner wall surface of the pass-through portion and the non-outlet portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 31, 2018
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Matsuo Nagata, Kazuaki Bito, Akira Suzuki, Koji Shibayama, Akihisa Tange
  • Publication number: 20170349135
    Abstract: An airbag apparatus includes a gas generator main body and an airbag. The gas generator main body includes a gas outlet portion, which includes gas discharging holes, and a non-outlet portion. The airbag includes an inflation portion, which is inflated by inflation gas, and a storage chamber, which is arranged outside the inflation portion and stores the gas generator main body. The storage chamber includes an insertion port for inserting the gas generator main body and a partition wall. The partition wall includes a pass-through portion through which the non-outlet portion is passed. The partition wall separates the storage chamber and the inflation portion from each other and restricts leakage of inflation gas in the inflation portion to the storage chamber through the gap between inner wall surface of the pass-through portion and the non-outlet portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 23, 2017
    Publication date: December 7, 2017
    Inventors: Matsuo NAGATA, Kazuaki BITO, Akira SUZUKI, Koji SHIBAYAMA, Akihisa TANGE
  • Patent number: 8366143
    Abstract: A knee airbag device includes a column cover that covers a rear end portion of a steering column from below; and an airbag module. The airbag module is disposed in a column lower cover and includes a gas generation portion that generates gas and a knee airbag that is housed in the airbag module in a folded state, and is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the gas generation portion. The airbag module is connected to the steering column by a snap-fit action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Date of Patent: February 5, 2013
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Osamu Fukawatase, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada, Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito
  • Publication number: 20120326419
    Abstract: A knee airbag device includes a column cover that covers a rear end portion of a steering column from below; and an airbag module. The airbag module is disposed in a column lower cover and includes a gas generation portion that generates gas and a knee airbag that is housed in the airbag module in a folded state, and is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the gas generation portion. The airbag module is connected to the steering column by a snap-fit action.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 5, 2012
    Publication date: December 27, 2012
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Osamu FUKAWATASE, Kenji IMAMURA, Akiyoshi SANADA, Yuichi ADACHI, Kazuaki BITO
  • Patent number: 8282123
    Abstract: A knee airbag device includes a column cover that covers a rear end portion of a steering column from below; and an airbag module. The airbag module is disposed in a column lower cover and includes a gas generation portion that generates gas and a knee airbag that is housed in the airbag module in a folded state, and is inflated and deployed by the gas supplied by the gas generation portion. The airbag module is connected to the steering column by a snap-fit action.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 8, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 9, 2012
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Osamu Fukawatase, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada, Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 8181988
    Abstract: An airbag of an airbag apparatus includes a bag body, a supplementary bag, a communication hole that communicates the bag body and the supplementary bag, an open/close element that opens and closes the communication hole and a connecting element extending from the open/close element. The connecting element is connected at the leading end to an anchor mechanism that regulates the operation of the open/close element under control of a control device. The open/close element keeps closing the communication hole while the anchor mechanism holds the connecting element whereas opens the communication hole when the anchor mechanism releases the connecting element such that inflation gas is fed into the supplementary bag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 30, 2009
    Date of Patent: May 22, 2012
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7997610
    Abstract: A knee airbag device includes an airbag module and an airbag door. The airbag module, which is provided inside a column cover that covers the rear end portion of a steering column, includes a gas generation device that generates gas when a collision occurs, and a knee airbag that is inflated and deployed from a folded state when the knee airbag receives the gas from the gas generation device. The airbag door, which is provided in the lower portion of the column cover, is opened when the inflation pressure of the knee airbag is equal to or higher than a predetermined value. When the knee airbag is deployed, at least a portion of the airbag door is positioned between an interfering object that is positioned in an area on the side of the column cover, and at least a portion of the knee airbag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 28, 2008
    Date of Patent: August 16, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Osamu Fukawatase, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada, Kazuaki Bito, Yuichi Adachi
  • Patent number: 7988185
    Abstract: The knee-protecting airbag apparatus includes an airbag folded and housed in a lower area inside the column cover. The airbag pushes and opens a door section on the column cover upon deployment. When the door section is thus opened, a door of the door section blocks off an allowance gap formed between an outer circumference of the column cover subjected to position adjustment and a lower area of a peripheral region of an installation opening on a dashboard for installing the column cover by locating a rear edge region of the door to abut on a rear side of the dashboard or the lower area of the peripheral region of the installation opening on the rear side of the dashboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2011
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito, Osamu Fukawatase, Tomoyuki Moro, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada
  • Patent number: 7938442
    Abstract: A knee airbag device mounted on a steering column has an inner case in which a folded knee airbag is housed, and an outer case that is placed over the inner case. The outer case is fixed to a lower side of a vehicle-rear-side portion of a steering column that moves relative to a vehicle-front-side portion when a load equal to or greater than a threshold load is applied to the steering column in a direction of the axis of the steering column, and has a rigidity with which the shape of the folded knee airbag is maintained under normal conditions. The outer case has an opening formed in a region where the outer case would interfere with the vehicle-front-side portion when the vehicle-rear-side portion moves relative to the vehicle-front-side portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Date of Patent: May 10, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Tetsu Matsuo, Akiyoshi Sanada, Kazuhiro Nakayama, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7914038
    Abstract: An airbag system includes an airbag, and the airbag includes an airbag body having a passenger-side wall portion that is arranged at a passenger side when having completed deploying and inflating, and a slip cloth that is disposed at an outer surface side of the passenger-side wall portion. The slip cloth formed in a loop shape an axial direction of which is in a left and right direction includes: a front panel portion arranged at a passenger side; an upper back panel portion extending downward from an upper end of the front panel portion; and a lower back panel portion extending upward from a lower end of the front panel portion, and a lower end of the upper back panel portion and an upper end of the lower back panel portion are mutually approximated, and joined to the passenger-side wall portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 2, 2009
    Date of Patent: March 29, 2011
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Toru Koyama, Yoshiaki Goto, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7900959
    Abstract: The airbag apparatus includes an airbag housed in a folded state and an inflator for supplying inflation gas to the airbag. The inflator includes a first gas supply region and a second gas supply region respectively supplying inflation gas into the airbag under control of a control device. The first gas supply region is operable independently and in advance of the second gas supply region. The substance quantity of inflation gas supplied to the airbag by the first gas supply region per unit time at the time the first gas supply region operates independently and in advance of the second gas supply region is less than the substance quantity of inflation gas supplied to the airbag by the second gas supply region per unit time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 28, 2007
    Date of Patent: March 8, 2011
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuaki Bito
  • Publication number: 20110049847
    Abstract: The knee-protecting airbag apparatus includes an airbag folded and housed in a lower area inside the column cover. The airbag pushes and opens a door section on the column cover upon deployment. When the door section is thus opened, a door of the door section blocks off an allowance gap formed between an outer circumference of the column cover subjected to position adjustment and a lower area of a peripheral region of an installation opening on a dashboard for installing the column cover by locating a rear edge region of the door to abut on a rear side of the dashboard or the lower area of the peripheral region of the installation opening on the rear side of the dashboard.
    Type: Application
    Filed: September 27, 2007
    Publication date: March 3, 2011
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito, Osamu Fukawatase, Tomoyuki Moro, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada
  • Patent number: 7878532
    Abstract: A knee-protecting airbag apparatus is mountable on a door of a glove box that has a box body provided with an opening at the rear and the door. The airbag apparatus includes an airbag, a generally columnar inflator housed in the airbag, a case housing the airbag and inflator, and an airbag cover constituting a rear face of the glove box door and being openable at airbag deployment. The inflator includes a body that discharges inflation gas and a fixing section that secures the body and the airbag to the case. The fixing section includes a projecting portion and the projecting portion extends at an upward or downward angle to the thickness direction of the glove box door.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 20, 2009
    Date of Patent: February 1, 2011
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Takashi Sasaki, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7862079
    Abstract: A steering column device with a knee airbag device includes a steering column provided with a telescopic mechanism; a column cover that covers the rear end portion of the steering column; an airbag module, provided inside the column cover, which includes a gas generation device that generates gas, and a knee airbag that is inflated and deployed by the gas; an airbag door that is provided in the column cover, and that is opened when the airbag door receives the inflation pressure of the knee airbag; a collision prediction device that predicts that a vehicle will have a collision with a collision object; and a control device that operates the telescopic mechanism so that each of the column cover and the airbag module is moved rearward to a predetermined position, when the collision prediction device predicts that the vehicle will have a collision with the collision object.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: February 25, 2008
    Date of Patent: January 4, 2011
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Osamu Fukawatase, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada, Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7828320
    Abstract: In a knee protecting airbag device of the present invention, in the lower area inside a column cover, a case housing an airbag is attached to a steering column. The steering column includes a movable member for moving toward the front side of a vehicle along the axial direction of the column at the time when an impact on the front of the vehicle acts, and an unmoving stationary member, so that the column can absorb the impact when the movable member moves. The case is attached to such an area of the movable member that the case hits the stationary member when the moving member moves and absorbs impact, and the case can be deformed before or at the time of hitting the stationary member so that the moving stroke of the movable member is preserved when it moves.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 26, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 9, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito, Osamu Fukawatase, Tomoyuki Moro, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada
  • Patent number: 7823911
    Abstract: A knee protecting air bag apparatus M1 is mounted to a column cover 16 for covering a column cover 16 for covering a steering column. In operating the apparatus M1, a contained air bag 45 is supplied with an expanding gas G and is projected from the column cover 16 to be able to protect the knee of a driver while being expanded to develop. The column cover 16 includes a door portion 34 opened by being pressed by the air bag to be able to form a projecting opening 22 of the air bag 45 at two left ad right side faces 18b, 18c from a side of a lower face 18a. Inside of the air bag 45 is arranged with a gas flow restricting member 64 such that the expanding gas G is made to flow to a left door portion 36 and a right door portion 37 of the door portion 34 by being directed in outer directions of both left and right sides.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 25, 2007
    Date of Patent: November 2, 2010
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito, Osamu Fukawatase, Kenji Imamura, Akiyoshi Sanada
  • Patent number: 7819420
    Abstract: The knee-protecting airbag apparatus is mounted on a lower region of a column cover covering a steering column of vehicle projecting rearward from an instrument panel. The airbag (47) folded and housed in a housing emerges and spreads in four directions from the housing for deployment in front of knees of a driver when fed with inflation gas from an inflator (41) that is stored inside the airbag (47) and disposed to the rear side of the housing. Folding of the airbag (47) before being stored in the housing is such that left and right areas of a region (50) attached to the housing is folded on the side of the column side wall (49) to reduce the lateral width L2 of the airbag (47) without superimposing the left and right areas of the mounting region (50) on the inflator (41) in the vertical direction and a folded region (63) on the front side of the mounting region (50) is located in parallel with and in front of the inflator (41).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 9, 2008
    Date of Patent: October 26, 2010
    Assignee: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Yuichi Adachi, Kazuaki Bito, Osamu Fukawatase, Akiyoshi Sanada
  • Publication number: 20100244416
    Abstract: A knee airbag device mounted on a steering column has an inner case in which a folded knee airbag is housed, and an outer case that is placed over the inner case. The outer case is fixed to a lower side of a vehicle-rear-side portion of a steering column that moves relative to a vehicle-front-side portion when a load equal to or greater than a threshold load is applied to the steering column in a direction of the axis of the steering column, and has a rigidity with which the shape of the folded knee airbag is maintained under normal conditions. The outer case has an opening formed in a region where the outer case would interfere with the vehicle-front-side portion when the vehicle-rear-side portion moves relative to the vehicle-front-side portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: January 27, 2010
    Publication date: September 30, 2010
    Applicant: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Tetsu MITSUO, Akiyoshi SANADA, Kazuhiro NAKAYAMA, Kazuaki BITO
  • Patent number: 7798521
    Abstract: A lower limb protecting airbag apparatus M1 is provided in front of the lower limbs L of an occupant D seated in a seat. At the collision of vehicles, the lower limb protecting airbag apparatus is operated to be able to protect the lower limbs of the occupant so that an airbag having inflated in front of the lower limbs is disposed therein. An accommodating part configured to accommodate and hold the airbag is supported by a support arm. A servo motor is activated to cause the support arm to feed the accommodating part from a standby position to a working position at which the airbag is expanded and inflated. The accommodating part has a support portion which can support a front surface side when the airbag having completed inflation at the working position catches the lower limbs.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2007
    Date of Patent: September 21, 2010
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Kazuaki Bito
  • Patent number: 7753405
    Abstract: An air bag system of the invention includes an air bag having a discharge port which discharges part of inflation gas when it opens and an opening and closing control unit which enables the control of opening and closing of the discharge port. The air bag includes a bag main body, a discharge portion provided in the bag main body, and a connecting member which is provided within the bag main body and which is connected to the discharge portion on a bottom portion side thereof and connected to the opening and closing control unit on a tip end side thereof. The discharge portion is withdrawn into the bag main body by the connecting member with the connection of the connecting member with the opening and closing control unit maintained, so as to maintain the discharge port in a closed state, while with the connection of the connecting member with the opening and closing control unit canceled, the discharge portion is made to protrude from the bag main body, so as to open the discharge port.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 22, 2008
    Date of Patent: July 13, 2010
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Naohiko Ishiguro, Michihisa Asaoka, Hitoshi Iida, Kazuaki Bito, Yoshiaki Goto