US-12617367-B2 - Pleated airbag construction

US12617367B2US 12617367 B2US12617367 B2US 12617367B2US-12617367-B2

Abstract

An airbag for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle includes first and second panels each comprising a periphery having substantially identical configurations, wherein the first and second panels are positioned overlying each other and connected to each other via a perimeter connection that extends along their peripheries to define an inflatable volume of the airbag. The first panel includes a pleat configured to increase the area of the first panel over that of the second panel while the configurations of the peripheries of the first and second panels remain substantially identical, wherein the pleat is configured to form a bend in the airbag when the airbag is inflated.

Inventors

Kurt Fischer
Douglas Gould
David Varcoe
Paul Lange
Alexandra Smith

Assignees

ZF Passive Safety Systems US Inc.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260505
Application Date: 20240509

Claims (20)

1 . An airbag for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle, comprising: first and second panels having substantially identical peripheries, wherein the first and second panels are positioned overlying each other and connected to each other via a perimeter connection that extends along their peripheries to define an inflatable volume of the airbag, wherein the airbag has a length and a width that corresponds to respective lengths and widths of the interconnected first and second panels; wherein the first panel comprises a pleat configured to form a bend in the airbag when the airbag is inflated, wherein the first panel comprises multiple panel pieces that have end portions positioned adjacent to each other and interconnected along respective edges by a panel connection that extends widthwise across the first panel between opposite longitudinally extending portions of the periphery of the first panel, wherein the interconnected edges have curved configurations such that the panel connection has a length that is greater than the width of the first panel across which the panel connection spans, which causes the area of the first panel to be greater than the area the second panel, allowing the pleat to be formed in the first panel despite the substantially identical peripheries of the first and second panels.
2 . The airbag recited in claim 1 , wherein the multiple panel pieces comprise a first piece and a second piece, wherein the first piece comprises a main portion with a periphery that forms a portion of the periphery of the first panel, wherein the end portion of the first piece has a periphery that does not form a portion of the periphery of the first panel, wherein the second piece comprises a main portion with a periphery that forms a portion of the periphery of the first panel, wherein the end portion of the second piece has a periphery that does not form a portion of the periphery of the first panel, wherein the end portions of the first and second pieces are connected to each other along their peripheries via the panel connection, the interconnected end portions of the first and second pieces forming the pleat, the pleat being positioned between the main portions of the first and second pieces.
3 . The airbag recited in claim 2 , wherein the peripheries of the end portions of the first and second pieces have matching curved configurations.
4 . The airbag recited in claim 3 , wherein the panel connection connecting the end portions of the first and second pieces has opposite ends that terminate at the perimeter connection on opposite sides of the airbag.
5 . The airbag recited in claim 1 , wherein the airbag is configured to position the bend in the airbag at a location on the airbag configured to receive the occupant's head.
6 . The airbag recited in claim 1 , further comprising connections that interconnect the first and second panels to define chambers within the inflatable volume of the airbag.
7 . The airbag recited in claim 6 , wherein the connections that interconnect the first and second panels to define chambers within the inflatable volume of the airbag comprise tethers.
8 . The airbag recited in claim 1 , wherein the airbag has a first end portion configured to be mounted to the vehicle structure at a mounting location on the vehicle, and wherein the bend is configured to control the shape of the airbag so that the airbag is positioned at a desired location relative to the occupant when deployed.
9 . The airbag recited in claim 8 , wherein the airbag comprises a first pleat configured to define a first bend in the airbag, and a second pleat configured to define a second bend in the airbag, wherein the first and second pleats define the first end portion of the airbag, a second end portion of the airbag, and a middle portion of the airbag extending between the first and second end portions of the airbag from the first pleat to the second pleat, wherein the first end portion of the airbag is configured to be mounted to the vehicle structure and to extend along the vehicle structure, the first bend is configured to cause the middle portion of the airbag to extend away from the vehicle structure toward the vehicle occupant, and the second bend is configured to cause the second end portion of the airbag to extend downward in front of the occupant.
10 . The airbag recited in claim 9 , wherein the vehicle structure comprises a roof of the vehicle.
11 . The airbag recited in claim 9 , wherein the vehicle structure comprises a seatback of a vehicle seat positioned in front of a vehicle seat upon which the occupant is seated.
12 . The airbag recited in claim 11 , wherein the first end portion of the airbag is configured to extend upward along the seatback, the middle portion of the airbag is configured to extend rearward from the seatback toward the occupant, and the second end portion of the airbag is configured to extend downward in front of the occupant.
13 . The airbag recited in claim 9 , further comprising an external tether that interconnects two of the first end portion of the airbag, second end portion of the airbag, and middle portion of the airbag.
14 . The airbag recited in claim 9 , wherein the airbag is configured so that the second bend is positioned in front of a head of the occupant and so that the second end portion of the airbag extends from the occupant's head down along the occupant's torso and terminates adjacent upper legs of the occupant.
15 . The airbag recited in claim 14 , wherein the second end portion of the airbag is configured to be impinged between the occupant's upper legs and the occupant's torso as the occupant leans forward into engagement with the airbag in response to a vehicle collision.
16 . An airbag module comprising: the airbag of claim 1 ; an inflator that is actuatable to produce inflation fluid for inflating and deploying the airbag; and a housing for supporting the airbag and inflator.
17 . A vehicle safety system comprising the airbag module in claim 16 .
18 . The vehicle safety system recited in claim 17 , further comprising: a sensor for sensing the occurrence of an event for which deployment of the airbag is desired and producing a signal indicative thereof; and a controller connected to the sensor and, in response to receiving the signal, actuating the inflator to inflate and deploy the airbag.
19 . The airbag recited in claim 1 , wherein the perimeter connection is not required to form the pleat.
20 . An airbag for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle, comprising: a first panel and a second panel, the first panel comprising first and second panel pieces; wherein the first panel piece has a periphery including first curved edge that extends widthwise across the first panel piece between opposite edges of the first panel piece; wherein the second panel piece has a periphery including a second curved edge that extends widthwise across the second panel piece between opposite edges of the second panel piece; wherein the first and second panel pieces are connected to each other by a panel connection that connects the first curved edge to the second curved edge; wherein the first panel is positioned overlying the second panel and connected to the second panel by a perimeter connection that extends along the entire periphery of the second panel, wherein the first and second panel pieces are configured so that portions of their peripheries not including the interconnected first and second curved edges mate with the periphery of the second panel and are connected to the periphery of the second panel by the perimeter connection.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates generally to occupant safety systems and, in particular, to occupant safety systems including airbags, such as roof-mounted and seat-mounted airbags. BACKGROUND It is known to provide an inflatable vehicle occupant protection device, such as an airbag, for helping to protect an occupant of a vehicle. One particular type of airbag is a frontal airbag inflatable between an occupant of a front seat of the vehicle and an instrument panel of the vehicle. Frontal airbags can be driver airbags or passenger airbags. When inflated, the driver and passenger airbags help protect the occupant from impacts with parts of the vehicle such as the instrument panel and/or a steering wheel of the vehicle. Other types of airbags include side airbags and curtain airbags, both of which are inflatable between a seated occupant and a side structure of the vehicle. When inflated, the side and curtain airbags help protect the occupant from impacts with the side structure of the vehicle. There are trends in the auto industry to make vehicles more spacious. Styling has been making the instrument panel smaller and thus farther away from the occupant. State-of-the-art sensors and artificial intelligence (AI), combined with active and passive safety technologies, can help to prevent accidents or mitigate their consequences. These include intelligent driver assist systems with automated emergency driving maneuvers as well as external side airbags or the detection of the occupants seating position. Autonomous driving technologies can eliminate the need for some of the vehicle structure that is common to current vehicle architectures, leading to new interior concepts in which the occupant's seating position can vary. With these realities as a backdrop, the paradigm of occupant safety systems has shifted. In the past, the necessity of a vehicle operator/driver lent to a somewhat standard vehicle passenger cabin configuration. In the U.S., the driver is a front seat, left side, forward facing occupant within reach of the vehicle controls and instrumentation (steering wheel, pedals, instrument panel, console, etc.). This driver configuration helps dictate the layout of the remainder of the vehicle—front seat, forward-facing passenger-side occupant, rear seat (second row, third row, etc.) forward-facing occupants. Accordingly, in the past, occupant safety systems were typically designed with this passenger cabin layout and the associated occupant positions and orientations in mind. The autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicle allows vehicle passengers to be positioned and oriented away from the conventional positions/orientations described above. Predetermined passenger arrangements, such as all forward-facing occupants, or vehicle structural configurations, such as steering wheel/instrument panel configurations, center console configurations, foot well, pedal controls, etc., might not be assumed. Additionally, even in conventionally driven vehicles, trends in vehicle design are evolving such that the configurations of vehicles in the area of the instrument panel can make it difficult or impossible to utilize these traditional structures as reaction surfaces for airbags mounted thereon. This presents the challenge of not only where to locate airbag systems, but also finding reaction surfaces against which to position the airbags so they can absorb impacts. Typically, instrument panel and steering wheel mounted frontal airbags utilize those structures as a reaction surface against which the airbag rests so that it can oppose, cushion, and absorb the impact energy of an impacting occupant and provide a desired ride-down effect. In modern vehicles, including autonomous, semi-autonomous, or conventionally driven vehicles, however, the vehicle may not have an instrument panel or steering wheel at all, or one that cannot accommodate a traditional airbag module. Even if there is structure sufficient to support an airbag in the traditional locations, in the case of autonomous or semi-autonomous vehicles, the occupants can be positioned and oriented outside the traditional manner, thus impacting the ability of the airbag to provide optimal protection. SUMMARY A vehicle occupant safety system includes an airbag with a pleated structure that causes the airbag to bend at predetermined locations. The pleated configuration is tailored to produce an overall shape of the airbag that results in the desired airbag coverage. In one example configuration, the airbag can be configured to be roof-mounted. In another example configuration, the airbag can be configured to be mounted on a seatback positioned in front of the occupant, e.g., a front seatback mounted airbag configured to protect a rear seat occupant. The airbag can have a simple two panel configuration where the panels are stitched or otherwise interconnected to produce a cushion with a uniform configuration, such as a flat, rounded rectangular configuration. The