Patents by Inventor Toshinori Tanase

Toshinori Tanase 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).

  • Publication number: 20020017775
    Abstract: An air bag is stored along the peripheral edge of the upper fringe of an opening on the indoor side in a state that it is covered with a door of an air bag cover and folded. When receiving inflation gas, the air bag forcibly opens the door and develops and inflates downward so as to cover the opening. In a region of an inflating section to which gas for inflation flows, a plurality of thickness defining members, which couple the cabin-inside side wall with the cabin-outside side wall to make a thickness of the inflating section uniform, are arranged side by side in the front/rear direction, while extending in the vertical direction. The thickness defining member disposed near the unsmooth development part of the door is disposed such that the upper end thereof is located at a position lower than the upper end of the thickness defining member.
    Type: Application
    Filed: July 19, 2001
    Publication date: February 14, 2002
    Applicant: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD and JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Toshinori Tanase, Choko Tanabe, Mitsuyoshi Ohno, Norio Urushi
  • Publication number: 20020000713
    Abstract: An air bag provided with linear joined portions in the inflation section is disclosed. The linear joined portions linearly join the opposing wall portions of the inflation section. Each of the linear joined portions includes a body portion and end portions. The end portions extend from the body portion and gradually become wider than the body portion. The periphery surrounds the end portions and is provided with at least three straight portions. This air bag restrains mesh spreading and inflating gas leakage from the vicinity of any of the end portions of the linear joined portions.
    Type: Application
    Filed: June 19, 2001
    Publication date: January 3, 2002
    Inventors: Toshinori Tanase, Choko Tanabe, Masayuki Kato
  • Publication number: 20010040360
    Abstract: A guide plate 45 is placed at a guiding and holding member 42 which is fixed to a region of an inner panel 34 adjacent to the upper end portion 49A of a B pillar garnish. The guide plate 45 has a base end portion 45A which extends from the vehicle interior side to the vehicle exterior side. The base end portion 45A is fixed to the guiding and holding member 42. The cross sectional configuration of the guide plate 45 when viewed from the vehicle front is formed in a substantial U shape which surrounds the folded air bag body and whose opening portion faces the outer side of the vehicle interior. When the air bag body is expanded, the guide plate 45 is extended as well so as to cover the upper end portion 49A of the center pillar garnish 49. As a result, the air bag body can expand more smoothly, and the displacement of the center pillar garnish from the vehicle body can be prevented.
    Type: Application
    Filed: May 12, 1999
    Publication date: November 15, 2001
    Applicant: Toyota Jidosha
    Inventors: HIROSHI ISHIYAMA, YOSHIHARU FURUKAWA, CHIHARU TOTANI, TOSHINORI TANASE
  • Patent number: 6305707
    Abstract: A guide plate 45 is placed at a guiding and holding member 42 which is fixed to a region of an inner panel 34 adjacent to the upper end portion 49A of a B pillar garnish. The guide plate 45 has a base end portion 45A which extends from the vehicle interior side to the vehicle exterior side. The base end portion 45A is fixed to the guiding and holding member 42. The cross sectional configuration of the guide plate 45 when viewed from the vehicle front is formed in a substantial U shape which surrounds the folded air bag body and whose opening portion faces the outer side of the vehicle interior. When the air bag body is expanded, the guide plate 45 is extended as well so as to cover the upper end portion 49A of the center pillar garnish 49. As a result, the air bag body can expand more smoothly, and the displacement of the center pillar garnish from the vehicle body can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: October 23, 2001
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroshi Ishiyama, Yoshiharu Furukawa, Chiharu Totani, Toshinori Tanase
  • Publication number: 20010030416
    Abstract: An airbag device is provided with a double-woven coated airbag in which average values of the number of warps and wefts per square inch in double-weaving are 49 to 50 in one embodiment or 51 or more in another embodiment. With the airbag, peak inner pressure values before and after completion of expansion are set corresponding to the coating weight of the coating agent on the basis of a straight-line formula for a relationship between peak inner pressure values and the coating agent at the time of inflowing of the expansion gas.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 23, 2001
    Publication date: October 18, 2001
    Inventors: Choko Tanabe, Toshinori Tanase
  • Publication number: 20010026066
    Abstract: An airbag including an expansion part accommodating inflow of expansion gas to expand a peripheral wall, and linear joining portions arranged in a region of the expansion part and constituted by joining facing portions of the peripheral wall in a linear manner. The linear joining portions include a linear base, curved portions and swelling portions. The curved portions are connected to the base to curvilinearly bend toward ends thereof. The swelling portions are arranged at tip ends of the curved portions to smoothly connect outer peripheral edges thereof to outer peripheral edges of the curved portions. With this airbag, stress concentration is reduced around the swelling portions and the curved portions at the time of development and expansion. Thus, the linear joining portions can be arranged without causing breakage of the peripheral wall during development and expansion, and reduction in volume and expansion area held down as much as possible.
    Type: Application
    Filed: February 27, 2001
    Publication date: October 4, 2001
    Inventors: Choko Tanabe, Eisiti Nakamura, Toshinori Tanase, Takashi Yamamoto, Mikihito Ishii, Yoshinari Takei
  • Patent number: 6279941
    Abstract: Mounting portions of an air bag body are respectively nipped by positioning plates which are each fastened and fixed to a pillar inner panel by a weld nut and a bolt via the plates. Caulking portions are formed on the plates so that the mounting portions of the air bag device are in advance fixed between the plates. A convex portion is formed on the plate, and with the convex portion being engaged with a hole formed in the pillar inner panel, relative rotation of the plate and a vehicle body is prevented. As a result, rotation of the air bag body in a direction in which the mounting portions are fastened, which occurs during mounting of the air bag body to the vehicle body, can be prevented.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 1998
    Date of Patent: August 28, 2001
    Assignees: Toyota-Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyota Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hiroki Nakajima, Hiroshi Ishiyama, Toshinori Tanase, Yasuo Ochiai
  • Patent number: 6260878
    Abstract: An air bag for a side air bag device is folded and accommodated over a roof side rail portion on the peripheral edge of an opening in an interior side of a vehicle. The air bag is developed and expanded to cover the opening when an inflating gas flows in. In the air bag, the internal pressure of the inflating gas at 3 secs after the start of inflow is maintained at 30% or more of the internal pressure at 500 msecs after the start of inflow. This air bag can maintain the high internal pressure for a long time.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 12, 1999
    Date of Patent: July 17, 2001
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., LTD
    Inventor: Toshinori Tanase
  • Publication number: 20010006287
    Abstract: A head protecting air bag apparatus includes a lid and an air bag. The lid is disposed at an upper edge side periphery of an opening at a vehicle's inner side in a vehicle body and at an upper portion of a pillar portion. The air bag is attached to the vehicle's inner side of the vehicle body, is housed at a vehicle's outer side position of the lid in a folded state, and pushes and opens the lid to cover the opening when unfolding and expansion is caused by inflow of gas for expansion. The air bag is folded so that a lower edge side approaches an upper edge side, and an attachment portion at the upper edge side is attached to the vehicle body so that the air bag is housed at the vehicle's outer side of the lid. A part of a lower end of the lid is disposed at a vehicle's outer side of an upper end of a pillar garnish covering a vehicle's inner side of the pillar portion.
    Type: Application
    Filed: December 27, 2000
    Publication date: July 5, 2001
    Inventors: Toshinori Tanase, Takashi Yamamoto, Norio Urushi, Mitsuyoshi Ohno
  • Patent number: 6129377
    Abstract: An air bag (11) for a side air bag device capable of reducing the size and weight of the device (M1) while retaining a tension line (L--L) when expanded is mounted on the peripheral edge of a door opening (W) at the inside of a compartment, and is formed into a generally rectangular bag shape for covering the door opening when expanded, while being equipped with a gas inlet (19) for introducing an expanding gas. The air bag is provided with joints (22) jointing an inner side wall (12) and an outer side wall (13) partially so as to form a tension line L--L when expanded. The individual joints (22) are juxtaposed in plurality along the tension line so as to cross the tension line, and are arranged generally at vertically middle portions so as to form one expansion chamber (18) having upper and lower spaces (18a and 18b) for the expanding gas to flow therethrough.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 7, 1998
    Date of Patent: October 10, 2000
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Katsuhiro Okumura, Toshinori Tanase, Eisiti Nakamura, Takashi Yamamoto, Choko Terazawa, Yasuo Ochiai, Hideyuki Fujiwara, Shinji Kondo, Yasushi Kubota, Hiroki Nakajima, Shuji Miura
  • Patent number: 6082761
    Abstract: A side air bag device has an air bag and a substantially cylindrical inflator for supplying inflation gas to the air bag. The air bag includes a cloth bag and is installed in a vehicle interior in a folded state along the edge of a door opening. The air bag deploys so as to cover the door opening when it inflates. The air bag has a substantially cylindrical tubular gas inflow portion. This gas inflow portion is connected to the inflator so that it covers the inflator. The gas inflow portion is clamped to the outer circumferential surface of the inflator. With a side air bag device according to the invention it is not necessary to use a long pipe that from the inflator and it is possible to increase the freedom of installation of the device and also reduce its weight and cost.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 16, 1998
    Date of Patent: July 4, 2000
    Assignees: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd., Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha
    Inventors: Hisaaki Kato, Toshinori Tanase, Yasuo Ochiai, Hiroshi Yasuda, Hiroki Nakajima
  • Patent number: 5791683
    Abstract: Garnish members according to this invention are installed and fixed to peripheries of a door opening in the interior of a vehicle body. The garnish members have an air bag therein and include elongate garnish bodies disposed in the interior of a vehicle body fixing portions. The fixing portions are hinged to the garnish bodies at a rear side of the garnish bodies and can be fixed to the body. The fixing portions include brackets capable of maintaining folding conditions of the air bag, which brackets can be ruptured when the air bag is inflated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 11, 1997
    Date of Patent: August 11, 1998
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Minoru Shibata, Katsuhiro Katagiri, Akiyoshi Nagano, Hiroki Tsuge, Toshinori Tanase