With Confinement Expansion Regulating Tether Or Strap Patents (Class 280/743.2)
  • Patent number: 11891009
    Abstract: An assembly includes a dash and a deployable panel. The deployable panel has a proximal end rotatably connected to the dash. The deployable panel is rotatable about the proximal end from an undeployed position to a deployed position. The proximal end is engaged with the dash in the deployed position and the deployable panel has a distal end spaced above the dash in the deployed position. An airbag is supported by the dash and is inflatable to an inflated position. The airbag has a back panel abutting the deployable panel in the inflated position and an impact panel opposite the back panel. A tether is connected to the deployable panel and the impact panel. The tether extends through the back panel from the deployable panel to the impact panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 2, 2022
    Date of Patent: February 6, 2024
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Eric Axel Smitterberg, Russell Joseph Mihm, Johnathan Andrew Line, Chuck R. Reese, James Robert Chascsa, II
  • Patent number: 11851017
    Abstract: A safety airbag having an air bag, the air bag configured with an inflated state and a stowed state, and including a main body portion and a first side flap and a second side flap connected to two sides of the main body portion. The first side flap and the second side flap extend from the main body portion towards an occupant when the air bag is in the inflated state such that the head of the occupant is accommodated in a recessed portion between the first side flap and the second side flap. The first side flap includes a first inner side surface and a first outer side surface. The second side flap includes a second inner side surface and a second outer side surface.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 15, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 26, 2023
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Qiang Meng, Ting Wang
  • Patent number: 11820317
    Abstract: An airbag cushion according to an embodiment may include a main body including a rear panel having a rear bonding line and a front panel having a front bonding line bonded to the rear bonding line and disposed to face a passenger when inflated by a gas introduced into an inner space formed between the front panel and the rear panel and a protruding chamber which is inflated and protrudes toward the passenger from the front panel, wherein the protruding chamber is provided with a folding structure in a state in which a part of the front panel is folded, and the folding structure is unfolded and inflated as the main body is inflated by the gas introduced into the inner space.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 23, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Min Seok Koh
  • Patent number: 11820318
    Abstract: Disclosed is an airbag device which varies and deploys a shape of an airbag cushion according to an attitude of a seat and a posture of a passenger to safely protect the passenger. In particular, the airbag device includes: a first tether of which one end is connected to an airbag housing, a second tether which includes a first portion connected between the other end of the first tether and a front surface of the airbag cushion, and a second portion connected between the other end of the first tether and the airbag housing to have a margin length, and a tether cutter provided to cut the first tether and configured to perform one deployment mode of a first deployment mode and a second deployment mode according to whether first tether is cut.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: November 21, 2023
    Assignees: HYUNDAI MOTOR COMPANY, KIA CORPORATION
    Inventors: Se Ho Kim, Eung Man Kim, Kap Seong Jung, Yong Tae Kim
  • Patent number: 11772595
    Abstract: An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a seat in a vehicle having an instrument panel and a housing positioned therein includes an airbag for positioning in the housing and defining an inflatable volume for receiving inflation fluid from an inflator. The airbag includes an occupant-facing panel. A tether extends along a centerline and has a first end connected to a portion of the airbag positioned within the housing and a second end connected to the occupant-facing panel for forming a pocket therein. The second end includes a folded-over portion. Stitching extends through the folded-over portion in a direction extending transverse to the centerline.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 3, 2023
    Assignee: ZF PASSIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS US INC.
    Inventors: David Arturo Meza, Jose Ramon Felix
  • Patent number: 11752872
    Abstract: An assembly includes an instrument panel and a base rotatably mounted to the instrument panel between a front position and a stowed position. An interior component is supported by the base. A spring biases the base toward the stowed position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 7, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 12, 2023
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Mangesh Kadam, Srinivas Reddy Malapati, Eric D. Veggian, Keith Trudgeon
  • Patent number: 11718256
    Abstract: An airbag device includes an airbag including: an outer bag; and an inner bag disposed so as to inflate inside the outer bag and having supply ports through which the inflation gas is supplied to the outer bag, the outer hag and the inner hag sharing the inflow opening and the attachment portion. At least one of the supply ports is provided as a lower side supply port disposed in the lower side wall portion, and a gas guide tether that connects a vicinity of an outer edge side of the lower side supply port and the vehicle body side wall portion so as to be able to guide the inflation gas supplied from the lower side supply port to the vehicle body side wall portion side in an inner peripheral surface of the outer bag along a radial direction centered on the inflow opening is provided.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 28, 2022
    Date of Patent: August 8, 2023
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Tsutomu Ishii, Koji Kawamura
  • Patent number: 11708047
    Abstract: An airbag device includes an airbag, a blocking member that can adjust an exhaust hole of the airbag to a blocked state and an opened state, a coupling member, and a holding and releasing unit, which maintains a state of blocking the exhaust hole by holding the coupling member. When the holding and releasing unit releases the holding of the coupling member, the blocking member inverts in such a way as to be fed out from an inner peripheral face side of the airbag to an outer peripheral face side through the exhaust hole owing to being pressed by inflating gas, and causes inflating gas to be discharged from a through hole formed between leading end regions of outer peripheral edges of a first panel portion and a second panel portion in the blocking member and a communication hole communicating with the exhaust hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 21, 2022
    Date of Patent: July 25, 2023
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Yuya Suzuki, Koji Kawamura, Takenori Ozaki
  • Patent number: 11685333
    Abstract: An airbag, in particular a front airbag, includes an outer wall having a front wall and a rear wall (18, 24) and a tether (16) as well as an electrically actuatable activation unit (26) for releasing the tether (16). The tether (16) includes plural tether portions (30, 32) connected to each other via a first tear seam (36). A tension means (40) is coupled to the tether (16) so that it destroys the first tear seam (36) when the activation unit (26) is not actuated.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: ZF AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventors: Simon Schmid, Sven Tamme, Benjamin Weimer
  • Patent number: 11685329
    Abstract: A seat for a vehicle may include a seatback including one or more inflatable bladders that may be configured to deploy in response to a triggering signal indicative of a change of velocity, collision, or predicted collision event. As at least a portion of the back of an occupant of the seat pushes against a front surface of the seatback due to the event, the one or more inflatable bladders compress at least partially the comfortable foam or comfort material in the seatback and expedite engagement of the energy absorbing material.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 30, 2021
    Date of Patent: June 27, 2023
    Assignee: Zoox, Inc.
    Inventors: Nirmal Muralidharan, Markus Jost, David Maurice Libeaut, Samantha Lynne Schoell
  • Patent number: 11634100
    Abstract: An airbag module includes a curtain-type airbag arranged in a packaged configuration, and a strap looped around the airbag. The airbag includes a mounting edge extending exteriorly along the airbag. The mounting edge includes a securement adaptor projecting therefrom exteriorly to the airbag. The strap includes two endpieces respectively anchored to the mounting edge and secured with the securement adaptor, thereby securing the strap in a loop around the airbag at the mounting edge.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2021
    Date of Patent: April 25, 2023
    Assignee: Toyoda Gosel Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Ryosuke Jinnai, Daniel Bujaidar, Roy Deutschmann
  • Patent number: 11613225
    Abstract: An airbag device is adapted to be installed in a vehicle for protecting an occupant. The airbag device includes a bag-like cushion that inflates and deploys in front of a seat and is adapted to restrain the occupant. In an inflated condition, the airbag cushion includes a main inflating section inflating toward the rear of the vehicle, a pair of lobes protruding toward the rear of the vehicle on both sides of the main inflating section in a vehicle width direction, a pair of secondary inflating sections being provided respectively between the main inflating section and each of the lobes in the vehicle width direction and inflating toward the rear of the vehicle, and a pair of tethers are symmetrically attached and tensioned inside the cushion for preventing the protruded lobes from swinging around the main inflating section of the cushion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 20, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: AUTOLIV ASP, INC.
    Inventors: Jeffrey Daniel Williams, Changsoo Choi
  • Patent number: 11613227
    Abstract: A tether actuation unit includes an actuator configured to form a connection with a tether that is releasable in response to actuation of the actuator, and a housing configured to receive the actuator. The housing includes a tether channel configured to allow the tether to extend therethrough. The tether channel includes sidewalls configured to receive and engage the tether along a portion of its length when the tether extends at an angle from the housing. The sidewalls of the tether channel are configured to limit movement of the tether in response to airbag deployment in order to limit tension applied to the actuator by the tether to a predetermined range of non-orthogonal directions with respect to a central axis of the actuator.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 15, 2021
    Date of Patent: March 28, 2023
    Assignee: ZF PASSIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS US INC.
    Inventors: Uriah Horton, Douglas Gould
  • Patent number: 11549375
    Abstract: The present invention is an airbag device mounted on one side of a vehicle seat in which both ends of a seat-shaped cushion that are opposed in horizontal and longitudinal directions during expansion and deployment are respectively bent a plurality of times and formed into molded parts R1, R2, and is provided with a first holding member 43 that holds the first molded part R1 on one end of either of the ends at least until the start of expansion and deployment and a second holding member 44 that holds the second molded part R2 on the other end at least until the start of expansion and deployment.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 16, 2020
    Date of Patent: January 10, 2023
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Yuto Kobayashi, Tsutomu Sakurai
  • Patent number: 11505151
    Abstract: A knee airbag unit (10) of a vehicle occupant restraint system of a motor vehicle is described. The knee airbag unit (10) comprises an airbag module (12), which has a module holder (14), a gas generator (16) and a flexible, non-inherently rigid module housing (18) that at least partially surrounds the gas generator (16) and the airbag in the untriggered state, wherein the gas generator (16), the airbag and the flexible module housing (18) are fastened to the module holder (14). Also provided is a cover (20) forming a module covering and defining an outer side in the installed state of the knee airbag unit (10), which is connected to the airbag module (12). Furthermore, there is an edge-side means (26) securing the cover (20) against lowering, originating from the module holder (14).
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 25, 2018
    Date of Patent: November 22, 2022
    Assignee: ZF AUTOMOTIVE GERMANY GMBH
    Inventors: Werner Freisler, Daniel Elija
  • Patent number: 11479204
    Abstract: An apparatus for helping to protect an occupant of a seat in a vehicle having an instrument panel and a housing positioned therein includes an airbag for positioning in the housing and defining an inflatable volume for receiving inflation fluid from an inflator. The airbag includes an occupant-facing panel. A tether has a first end connected to the occupant-facing panel for forming a pocket therein and a second end connected to a portion of the airbag positioned within the housing. The second end includes a folded-over portion. First stitching extends through the folded-over portion in a direction extending transverse to a centerline of the tether. Second stitching extends through the folded-over portion and parallel to the first stitching. The first and second stitchings are spaced a predetermined length from one another.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 25, 2022
    Assignee: ZF PASSIVE SAFETY SYSTEMS US INC.
    Inventors: Dylan Moran, Manuel Schaefer, Ali Emambakhsh, Michael Lalka, II
  • Patent number: 11472363
    Abstract: A driver's side airbag device 100 is provided with a diffuser 124 that is contained in an airbag cushion 104 and straightens gas flow from an inflator 112. The diffuser 124 has a connecting part 136 that is connected to the inflator 112 and one or a plurality of supply ports that supply gas received from the inflator 112 into the airbag cushion 104. The supply ports include a passenger side supply port 148 that overlaps at a predetermined location of the occupant side panel 120 of the airbag cushion 104 with the diffuser 124 contained therein. The driver's side airbag device 100 is further provided with a temporary stitched part 150 that breakably stitches the diffuser 124 and a predetermined portion of the occupant side panel 120 of the airbag cushion 104 across the occupant side supply opening 148 of the diffuser 124.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 9, 2021
    Date of Patent: October 18, 2022
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventor: Akira Koizumi
  • Patent number: 11453357
    Abstract: In a driver's seat airbag apparatus for vehicles, which includes a driver airbag which is deployed and expanded from a hub region towards a driver's seat via the inner peripheral side of a rim of a steering wheel surrounding this hub region, the driver airbag is configured so as to include: a back panel which is attached and fixed to an inflator provided in the hub region, and a bag body which is provided so as to be bonded to this back panel and deployed and expanded from this back panel towards the driver's seat, and wherein the attachment center S of the inflator to this back panel is set with respect to the center P of the back panel so as to be close to the 6 o'clock direction side in the 12 o'clock direction and the 6 o'clock direction of the steering wheel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 14, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 27, 2022
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Kazuki Morita, Yutaka Baba
  • Patent number: 11447086
    Abstract: A vehicle occupant re-straining device, comprising an air bag inflated and deployed on both sides of a vehicle occupant; tension cloth housed so as to extend from the inside of the seat back of a seat into a seat cushion; an angle detection means for detecting the reclining angle of the seat back; and an inner pressure control means for controlling, depending on the reclining angle, pressure in the air bag at the time of inflation and deployment thereof, wherein the tension cloth is deployed on the sides of the seat when the surface material of the seat is broken open by the inflation and deployment of the air bag, thereby holding the surfaces of the air bag, which are located on the opposite sides of the vehicle occupant, and wherein the inner pressure control means reduces pressure in the air bag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 15, 2019
    Date of Patent: September 20, 2022
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Tetsuya Matsushita, Hiroyuki Saito
  • Patent number: 11400878
    Abstract: An airbag device for a passenger seat includes an airbag that has a folded form and is stored in a storage disposed in an instrument panel. The airbag includes a bag body and a tether section. The tether section includes a left-right tether that connects a left wall and a right wall of the bag body for regulating a distance between the left and right walls at airbag deployment, and is configured to be deployed generally along a left and right direction of the bag body as deployed, and a front-rear tether that connects a central portion in a left and right direction of the left-right tether and a central portion in a left and right direction of a passenger-side wall for preventing the passenger-side wall from protruding rearward at airbag deployment, and is configured to be deployed in a front and rear direction of the bag body as deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 16, 2021
    Date of Patent: August 2, 2022
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Hironao Kobayashi
  • Patent number: 11396270
    Abstract: An airbag is configured by six base materials of two side wall configuration panels, a projecting portion configuration panel, a front panel, and two rear panels. Each of the side wall configuration panels configure a left wall portion or a right wall portion facing each other on a side in a rightward-leftward direction in a main body inflation portion, and a projecting portion configuration portion configuring a projecting inflation portion is located in one of the side wall configuration panels. The front panel configures a region from an upper wall portion to a lower wall portion, which face each other on a side in an upward-downward direction in the main body inflation portion. Each of the rear panels configures a rear surface in the main body inflation portion when the main body inflation portion is completely inflated. The projecting portion configuration panel has an external shape substantially coincident with that of the projecting portion configuration portion.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 17, 2019
    Date of Patent: July 26, 2022
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ikuo Yamada
  • Patent number: 11299123
    Abstract: A front airbag device for a vehicle is proposed. In the front airbag device, an airbag cushion is mounted in front of a passenger and is expanded to be positioned at a front surface of the passenger, a triangular main tether and a triangular support tether are positioned inside the airbag cushion, and one side of the main tether and one side of the support tether are spaced apart from each other and are coupled to the airbag cushion in a sewn manner, so that the main tether and the support tether support a front surface portion of the airbag cushion to protect a front surface of the passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 12, 2020
    Date of Patent: April 12, 2022
    Assignee: HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Hae Kwon Park, Seok Min Lee
  • Patent number: 11254281
    Abstract: An airbag includes a front panel and a rear panel, and the outer peripheries of the front panel and the rear panel are joined together. Each of the front panel and the rear panel has a propeller shape in which a plurality of blade portions extend radially from a center portion such that recessed portions are formed between adjacent blade portions in plan view before the front panel and the rear panel are joined. The plurality of blade portions of the front panel are joined to corresponding recessed portions of the rear panel, and the plurality of blade portions of the rear panel are joined to corresponding recessed portions of the front panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 23, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 22, 2022
    Assignee: Joyson Safety Systems Japan K.K.
    Inventor: Shinji Hayakawa
  • Patent number: 11242026
    Abstract: Airbag systems for use in a vehicle that is operable in a manual-steering mode or an automated-steering mode are provided. In one embodiment, an airbag system includes a primary airbag installed in a dashboard of a vehicle. The primary airbag is configured to be deployed when a collision event is detected, and, when deployed, the primary airbag is configured to protect a person seated in a driver seat of the vehicle. the airbag system also includes an auxiliary airbag configured to be deployed when the collision event is detected. During operation of the vehicle in a manual-steering mode, the deployment of the auxiliary airbag is configured to reduce contact between the primary airbag and a steering wheel of the vehicle when the primary airbag is deployed from the dashboard.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 12, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 8, 2022
    Assignee: Volvo Car Corporation
    Inventors: Johan Rosenberg, Sebastian Rutelin
  • Patent number: 11208071
    Abstract: Provided is an airbag which further reduces the degree of injury to a vehicle occupant while also exhibiting sufficient occupant protection performance using less output from the inflator, by both preventing airbag internal pressure from rising excessively when making contact with the occupant and increasing the speed of deployment in an occupant-protection area.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 28, 2021
    Assignee: SUMISHO AIRBAG SYSTEMS CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Masatoshi Yoshida, Teppei Harabayashi
  • Patent number: 11203319
    Abstract: An assembly for a vehicle includes an airbag inflatable to an inflated position. The airbag includes a first panel, a second panel, and an inflation chamber between the first panel and the second panel. The assembly includes an inflation restraint exterior to the inflation chamber. The inflation restraint includes a first end fixed to the first panel and a second end fixed to the second panel. The inflation restraint includes a releasable extension between the first end and the second end. The releasable extension is movable from an unreleased position to a released position as the airbag inflates to the inflated position.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 14, 2020
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Zhibing Deng, Joseph E. Abramczyk, Deepak Patel
  • Patent number: 11203320
    Abstract: An airbag uses a rear surface side when inflated as an occupant protection section. The occupant protection section includes a frontal collision restriction surface, oblique collision restriction surfaces on left and right sides of the frontal collision restriction surface, and restriction recessed portions between the frontal collision restriction surface and each oblique collision restriction surface. A recessed portion tether links a tip end side of a recess of the restriction recessed portions and a front end side of the airbag to each other to the inside thereof, and when inflated, at the time of dividing the region into two in the left-right direction around the vicinity of the attachment center to the storage part, provides a remote side region on a side away from a driver seat and a driver seat side region. The capacity of the remote side region is smaller than the driver seat side region.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: June 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 21, 2021
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Ikuo Yamada, Motoyuki Tanaka
  • Patent number: 11198411
    Abstract: Airbag cushion diffusers comprising one or more frangible portions and related airbag cushion assemblies and methods. In some embodiments, an airbag cushion assembly may comprise an airbag cushion having an internal diffuser positioned therein. The internal diffuser may comprise a lower panel that may be sewn or otherwise directly coupled to the airbag cushion and an upper panel coupled to the lower panel about respective entire peripheries of the upper and lower panels so as to define a diffuser chamber between the upper panel and the lower panel. The upper panel may comprise a plurality of openings for delivery of inflation gas therethrough and may comprise one or more openings, slits, and/or weakened regions configured to facilitate tearing in specific locations of the diffuser.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: April 18, 2019
    Date of Patent: December 14, 2021
    Assignee: Autoliv ASP. Inc.
    Inventor: Joel Yaney
  • Patent number: 11186249
    Abstract: An airbag for a front passenger seat, comprising: an inlet port for inflation gas; a main body, formed of at least one panel of fabric, and comprising a retainer (3) adapted for mounting the airbag to a vehicle, and a passenger contact region; and at least one tether (4) located inside the main body and connecting the retainer (3) to the passenger contact region so as to restrain inflation of at least a portion of the passenger contact region, wherein the tether (4) is attached to the fabric panel along a generally vertical line by stitches (7) which pass through stitch holes which are located inside the main body.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 8, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 30, 2021
    Assignee: Key Safety Systems, Inc.
    Inventor: Bernd Kippschull
  • Patent number: 11135991
    Abstract: [Issue] An objective of providing an airbag device enabling efficiently suppressing injury of the occupant during an emergency. [Resolution Means] A representative structure of the airbag device 100 according to the present invention includes an inflator 112 that is installed on a vehicle and is able to supply gas, an airbag cushion 104 that expands and deploys in front of the seating position of the vehicle occupant based on the gas, and at least one internal tether 116 with a first end 122 connected to the seating position side inside the airbag cushion 104 and a second end 124 connected to the vehicle front side inside the airbag cushion 104. The airbag cushion 104 is characterized by a recessed concave part 114 formed through pulling of the internal tether 116 on the center of the seating position side.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 27, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 5, 2021
    Assignee: Autoliv Development AB
    Inventor: Ryota Ishigaki
  • Patent number: 11072305
    Abstract: There is provided a passenger seat air bag having a portion which is unfolded to a side toward a center side of a vehicle in which a pressure difference in the portion is suppressed. A passenger seat air bag includes a front unfolding portion which is unfolded in front of the passenger seat, and a side unfolding portion which is in communication with the front unfolding portion and which is unfolded to side, of the passenger seat, nearer to a center of the vehicle. A horizontal tether is provided in the side unfolding portion in an arrangement which is approximately horizontal during unfolding. When unfolding gas is injected from the front to the air bag, because the horizontal tether does not block flow of the unfolding gas, pressure us the side unfolding portion is made uniform.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: October 30, 2018
    Date of Patent: July 27, 2021
    Assignees: Toyota Jidosha Kabushiki Kaisha, Toyoda Gosei Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Yasunobu Yamazaki, Mitsuyoshi Ohno, Ikuo Yamada
  • Patent number: 11008114
    Abstract: Various techniques are provided for an expandable energy absorbing fluid bladder. In one example, the fluid bladder includes a primary portion and a secondary portion. The secondary portion can be configured to expand or increase in volume when the fluid bladder is subjected to a pulse greater than a threshold pulse. Expansion of the secondary portion can allow fluid or additional fluid to flow into the secondary portion and thus decrease a peak pulse and, thus, avoid rupture of the fluid bladder.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 7, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 18, 2021
    Assignee: The Boeing Company
    Inventors: Michael Patrick Kozar, Mark S. Wilenski
  • Patent number: 10974686
    Abstract: The disclosure relates to a side airbag device including: an inflator that discharges gas; a cushion that covers the inflator and is expanded toward a side of a passenger by the gas discharged from the inflator; and a tether that is disposed through and around the cushion and induces an upper portion of the cushion to bend when the cushion expands, thereby being able to prevent a passenger-to-passenger collision and protect even one passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 1, 2019
    Date of Patent: April 13, 2021
    Assignee: Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Geon Woong Moon
  • Patent number: 10946828
    Abstract: An airbag assembly includes a base and an airbag extendable from the base to a flat position prior to inflation. A tether is elongated along an axis from a first end of the tether attached to the base to another end of the tether attached to the airbag in the flat position. A reinforcement is elongated along the axis in the flat position state and attached to the tether. The reinforcement has a greater torsional rigidity about the axis than the tether.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 4, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 16, 2021
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: David R. Huelke, Eric Axel Smitterberg, Adrienne Huelke
  • Patent number: 10940821
    Abstract: An airbag includes a bag body, an exhaust portion which has an exhaust hole, and a connecting member which is connected to the exhaust portion by the root portion inside the bag body. The bag body includes a main inflatable portion that includes a first and a second side walls which are opposed in a left and right direction at airbag deployment, and a protruding inflatable portion that protrudes partially rearward from a first end region in the left and right direction of an upper region of a rear portion of the main inflatable portion as deployed. The exhaust portion is formed in the first side wall of the main inflatable portion on a side the protruding inflatable portion is disposed, and is positioned farther downward than an apex of the protruding inflatable portion, as viewed from a side of the airbag as deployed.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 8, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 9, 2021
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ikuo Yamada
  • Patent number: 10933837
    Abstract: A restraint system includes a steering-wheel hub, a steering-wheel handle mounted to the steering-wheel hub and extending less than 360° around the steering-wheel hub, an airbag housing disposed in the steering-wheel hub, an airbag inflatable from an uninflated position in the airbag housing, and a plurality of rods hinged to the airbag housing and attached to the airbag.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 2, 2019
    Date of Patent: March 2, 2021
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Mangesh Kadam, Srinivas Reddy Malapati, Yuqin Zhao
  • Patent number: 10926731
    Abstract: A cushion of an airbag device includes an inner inflating section convexly inflating toward the rear of a vehicle and restraining the head of an occupant from the front of the vehicle, protrusions provided to the sides of the inner inflating section in a vehicle width direction and capable of inflating so as to protrude further toward the rear of the vehicle than the inner inflating section, and outer inflating sections provided between the inner inflating section and the protrusions and temporarily convexly inflating toward the rear of the vehicle within a smaller range than the expansion range of the inner inflating section and the protrusions. The outer inflating sections are squashed by the inner inflating section and the protrusions and, as a result, the protrusions are in a posture of being pulled toward a side of the inner inflating section.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 21, 2019
    Date of Patent: February 23, 2021
    Assignee: AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB
    Inventors: Yutaka Nakajima, Ryota Ishigaki, Takanari Muroya
  • Patent number: 10899306
    Abstract: A restraint system includes a side curtain airbag and a tether. The side curtain airbag includes an outboard side and an inboard side, and the inboard side including a protrusion. The tether includes a central seam, a first extension attached at the outboard side, a second extension attached at the inboard side above the protrusion, and a third extension attached at the inboard side below the protrusion. The extensions are attached to each other at the central seam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 4, 2018
    Date of Patent: January 26, 2021
    Assignee: Ford Global Technologies, LLC
    Inventors: Zhibing Deng, Deepak Patel, Krishnakanth E. Aekbote, Yun Cai
  • Patent number: 10864881
    Abstract: A side airbag device may include: an inflator mounted to a seat frame; a cushion covering the inflator and configured to be deployed by gas discharged from the inflator to protect a side portion of an passenger; and a tether mounted to the inflator and configured to enclose the cushion and reduce collision energy applied to the passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: December 15, 2020
    Assignee: Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
    Inventors: Hae Kwon Park, Jiwoon Song
  • Patent number: 10843656
    Abstract: A side airbag device includes: an inflator; a cushion that is expandable from the side of a seat toward a front of a vehicle; a vent hole that is provided at a predetermined position of the cushion and that discharges the gas; a patch that openably covers the vent hole from an inside of the cushion; a tether that is connected to the patch and a predetermined position (a tether cutter) of the side of the seat, the tether pulling the patch toward a rear of the vehicle so as to open the vent hole when the cushion is expanded and deployed; and a tether cutter that is configured to cut the tether in response to information relating to a state of the vehicle.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 11, 2017
    Date of Patent: November 24, 2020
    Assignee: AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB
    Inventors: Yuto Kobayashi, Hiroyuki Taguchi
  • Patent number: 10814826
    Abstract: An airbag includes first and second inner tethers, first and second vent holes formed on left and right sides of the airbag, and first and second opening/closing members capable of opening/closing the first and second vent holes. A first opening/closing tether has a first end portion coupled to the first opening/closing member and a second end portion coupled to the first inner tether, and a second opening/closing tether has a first end portion coupled to the second opening/closing member and a second end portion coupled to the second inner tether. When an occupant contacts the airbag, at least one of the first and second inner tethers is deformed to move at least one of the first and second opening/closing tethers toward the corresponding vent hole and cause at least one of the first and second opening/closing members to open the corresponding vent hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: May 4, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 27, 2020
    Assignee: AUTOLIV DEVELOPMENT AB
    Inventors: Yutaka Baba, Kazuki Morita, Hiroyoshi Shimono
  • Patent number: 10807561
    Abstract: An airbag includes panels, which face each other, of an outer peripheral wall upon inflation configured to change a thickness of the airbag from a thickened part to a thinned part by a tether coupled to the panels. The tether is divided into a plurality of pieces along a direction in which the panels face each other, and is thus configured by a plurality of divided pieces to be sewn each other at a linear sewing line. A panel-side divided piece sewn to the panel has a wide part, a narrow part and a width-changing part, which correspond to a thickness dimension changed from the thickened part to the thinned part. A panel-side edge of the panel-side divided piece has a shape including a curve part corresponding to the thickness dimension, and is sewn with being overlapped in a planar shape to the panel.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: March 20, 2019
    Date of Patent: October 20, 2020
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventors: Makoto Ozeki, Takashi Sasaki
  • Patent number: 10780859
    Abstract: A passenger seat airbag includes a passenger side wall for catching a passenger, and a circumferential wall that extends forward from the passenger side wall in a converging fashion. The circumferential wall includes an upper wall, a lower wall, a left wall and a right wall, and can be mounted on a housing by the front end. An inlet port for introducing inflation gas is disposed at a front end region of the lower side wall, at a position displaced to the right from the center in a left and right direction of the passenger side wall. In the front end region of the circumferential wall, with respect to a substantial circumferential length which permits free expansion, a left circumferential wall region disposed on the left of the inlet port and a right circumferential wall region disposed on the right of the inlet port have equal substantial circumferential lengths.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: September 21, 2018
    Date of Patent: September 22, 2020
    Assignees: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD., TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA
    Inventors: Shinichi Ishida, Takafumi Fukushima, Wataru Miura, Hisamitsu Tatsunami, Kazuki Kusuhara
  • Patent number: 10723307
    Abstract: An airbag module including an inflatable airbag and an inflator. The airbag is formed by a main panel and a pair of side panels and deploys into a position to contact the occupant. The airbag includes a tether connected to the main panel at one end and is anchored proximate to the inflator at the other end. Prior to inflation, the airbag includes a pre-folded portion adjacent to the tether. The airbag is configured so that during an initial stage of the inflation process the tether is fully extended and the pre-folded portion remains folded and during a final stage of the inflation process the tether separates into at least two portions thereby allowing the pre-folded portion to unfold and the airbag to fully deploy.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: December 22, 2017
    Date of Patent: July 28, 2020
    Assignee: JOYSON SAFETY SYSTEMS ACQUISITION LLC
    Inventors: Benjamin Morawski, Christopher Anderson
  • Patent number: 10676059
    Abstract: An airbag includes a body portion, a tether, and a folded portion. The body portion is expanded and deployed to an outer side of a vehicle and covers a lower end portion of a windshield glass. The tether is provided inside the body portion, and connects an upper portion and a lower portion of the body portion so as to partition the body portion in the vehicle front-rear direction. Also, the tether has a through hole. The folded portion is formed by sewing the tether that is folded and overlapped.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 6, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 9, 2020
    Assignees: TOYOTA JIDOSHA KABUSHIKI KAISHA, Autoliv Development AB
    Inventors: Taichi Minei, Kenichiro Yoshimoto, Shunichi Okinaka, Xiang Chen
  • Patent number: 10668886
    Abstract: Coupling spots are properly protected upon reception of gas pressure. A seam is possessed as a partition that partitions the interior of an airbag, and the seam is a coupling spot along which a frontal-side base fabric and a backside base fabric are coupled to each other. First and second reinforcing fabrics are provided on inner sides of the frontal-side base fabric and the backside base fabric, and the first and second reinforcing fabrics have remaining margins that are oriented toward the gas supply side in the downward direction rather than toward the seam, and each of the remaining margins functions as a shield wall against a flow of gas toward the seam.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: January 8, 2018
    Date of Patent: June 2, 2020
    Assignee: Honda Motor Co., Ltd.
    Inventor: Takashi Sato
  • Patent number: 10661746
    Abstract: An airbag device for a passenger seat is disclosed. The airbag includes a main section whose rear plane forms a front-collision arresting plane, and a sub section which is disposed on a side of the main section and includes a protruding region protruding farther rearward than the main section. The side plane of the protruding region forms an oblique-collision arresting plane. Between the front-collision- and oblique-collision arresting planes is an arresting recess denting forward. The airbag further internally includes a front-rear tether jointed to the front-collision arresting plane, and a recess-pulling tether jointed to the bottom of the arresting recess. The front-rear tether and recess-pulling tethers share a mounting base by which the tethers are mounted on an airbag case, and bifurcate from the mounting base. The front-rear tether extends from a rear edge of the mounting base, and the recess-pulling tether extends from an edge of the mounting base adjoining the front-rear tether.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 29, 2017
    Date of Patent: May 26, 2020
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ikuo Yamada
  • Patent number: 10518737
    Abstract: An airbag includes a main panel defining an inflation chamber and being inflatable to an inflated position. The airbag includes an extension extending from the main panel and defining an extension chamber. The airbag includes a side panel spaced from the main panel in the inflated position and fixed to the extension. The side panel is external to the extension chamber. The side panel, the extension, and the main panel define a cavity external to the extension chamber.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: August 17, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 31, 2019
    Assignee: FORD GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES, LLC
    Inventors: Luis Enrique Castillo Jaime, Moises Blancas Galicia, Srinivas Reddy Malapati
  • Patent number: 10501046
    Abstract: An airbag apparatus for a vehicle may include an airbag cushion configured to be provided with a vent hole for discharging inflation gas therein to the outside; a flap configured to have an external circumferential surface partially coupled to the airbag cushion along a rim of the vent hole; and a tether configured to have one end portion penetrating through the vent hole of the airbag cushion to be coupled to an internal side surface of the flap and be partially supported on an internal side surface of the airbag cushion to pull the flap when the airbag cushion is fully deployed, to close the vent hole and release a tensile force when the airbag cushion is loaded to deploy the flap outwardly of the airbag cushion by the inflation gas, to open the vent hole.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: November 1, 2017
    Date of Patent: December 10, 2019
    Assignees: Hyundai Motor Company, Kia Motors Corp.
    Inventors: Kyung Taek Lim, Jun Yeol Choi, Jae Ho Choi
  • Patent number: 10434969
    Abstract: An airbag includes a main inflatable section which includes a front-collision arresting face at the rear plane as deployed, a protruding inflatable section which includes an oblique-collision arresting face, and an arresting recess formed between the front-collision arresting face and oblique-collision arresting face. The airbag internally includes a recess-pulling tether which joints the leading end of the arresting recess and a front end portion of the airbag as deployed, and a regulating tether which extends from the leading end of the arresting recess towards a far-side wall of the protruding inflatable section which is opposed to the oblique-collision arresting face. A joint position of the regulating tether to the far-side wall is such a position that would produce a pulling force which pulls the protruding inflatable section towards the rear plane of the main inflatable section when the leading end of the arresting recess moves forward at catching a passenger.
    Type: Grant
    Filed: July 12, 2017
    Date of Patent: October 8, 2019
    Assignee: TOYODA GOSEI CO., LTD.
    Inventor: Ikuo Yamada