US-20260125025-A1 - VEHICLE CURTAIN AIRBAG APPARATUS

US20260125025A1US 20260125025 A1US20260125025 A1US 20260125025A1US-20260125025-A1

Abstract

A vehicle curtain airbag apparatus includes an airbag cushion disposed on a side portion of a vehicle and including an active area inflated by gas and a plurality of inactive areas into which the gas is not introduced and a control tether to assist deployment of the airbag cushion. The control tether connects the plurality of inactive areas of the airbag cushion in a state in which a portion of the airbag cushion is folded.

Inventors

Ju Kyung Kim
Byeong Mann KO

Assignees

HYUNDAI MOBIS CO., LTD.

Dates

Publication Date: 20260507
Application Date: 20250701
Priority Date: 20241106

Claims (10)

1 . A vehicle curtain airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag cushion disposed on a side portion of a vehicle and including an active area configured to be inflated by gas and a plurality of inactive areas into which the gas is not introduced; and a control tether configured to assist deployment of the airbag cushion, wherein the control tether connects the plurality of inactive areas of the airbag cushion in a state in which a portion of the airbag cushion is folded.
2 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 1 , wherein the airbag cushion includes a first main body forming an exterior thereof, wherein the first main body includes a first panel configured to come into contact with a passenger and a second panel coupled to the first panel and configured not to contact the passenger, and wherein the control tether is disposed on the second panel.
3 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 2 , wherein the airbag cushion includes a first bonding portion disposed along an edge of the first main body and forming the active area in the first main body, and the control tether is disposed outside the first bonding portion before the airbag cushion is folded.
4 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 3 , wherein the control tether includes a second main body forming an exterior thereof, the airbag cushion includes a plurality of second bonding portions disposed inside the first bonding portion and forming the plurality of inactive areas inside the first bonding portion, and the second main body of the control tether is fixed to one of the plurality of second bonding portions of the airbag cushion in a state in which the portion of the airbag cushion is folded.
5 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 4 , wherein the control tether includes a slit formed in the second main body and configured to assist rupture of the second main body while the airbag cushion deploys to unfold the folded portion of the airbag cushion.
6 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 5 , wherein a first end portion of the second main body of the control tether is fixed to an outer side of the first bonding portion of the airbag cushion, and the slit of the control tether is disposed proximate to the first end portion of the second main body.
7 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 5 , wherein a second end portion of the second main body of the control tether is coupled to one of the plurality of second bonding portions of the airbag cushion in the state in which the portion of the airbag cushion is folded.
8 . A vehicle curtain airbag apparatus comprising: an airbag cushion disposed on a side portion of a vehicle and folded through a first folding process of folding a portion of the airbag cushion with respect to a first direction as a center and a second folding process of rolling the airbag cushion with respect to a second direction as an axis direction after the first folding process; and a control tether coupled to the airbag cushion, wherein the airbag cushion includes an active area configured to be inflated by gas and a plurality of inactive areas into which the gas is not introduced, and wherein the control tether is fixed to one of the plurality of inactive areas of the airbag cushion after the first folding process of the airbag cushion is completed.
9 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the airbag cushion includes a first main body forming an exterior thereof, the first main body includes a first panel configured to come into contact with a passenger and a second panel coupled to the first panel and configured not to contact the passenger, and the control tether is disposed on the second panel.
10 . The vehicle curtain airbag apparatus of claim 8 , wherein the airbag cushion is configured to deploy through a first unfolding process of releasing a rolled state through the second folding process and a second unfolding process of releasing a folded state through the first folding process after the first unfolding process is completed, and the control tether is configured to be ruptured while the second unfolding process of the airbag cushion is performed.

Description

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION This application claims priority to and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No. 10-2024-0156100, filed on November 6, 2024, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety. BACKGROUND 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vehicle curtain airbag apparatus. 2. Description of Related Art In general, various types of airbag devices for protecting passengers when collision accidents occur are provided in vehicles. Among them, a curtain airbag apparatus is an apparatus which is mounted on a plurality of pillars disposed on each of side portions of front doors and rear doors and of which an airbag cushion is unfolded downward and deployed to protect a passenger in an event of vehicle rollover and side collision. A curtain airbag apparatus may include an airbag cushion deployed in a passenger room and an inflator which generates gas and discharges the gas into the airbag cushion. Among them, since the airbag cushion covers an entire side portion of the passenger room, the airbag cushion may have a rectangular shape in which the airbag cushion elongates in a longitudinal direction (a direction from the passenger room toward an engine room, or a direction opposite thereto) of a vehicle, gas is injected into the airbag cushion by the inflator, and an entire inner potion of the airbag cushion may be inflated. Recently, as a vehicle becomes larger, a length of an airbag cushion increases. For example, in a vehicle for accommodating multiple passengers (for example, a vehicle for six or more passengers), a first row area in which a driver’s seat and a passenger seat are disposed, and a second row area and a third row area disposed behind the first row area may be provided. Accordingly, the airbag cushion has the length for covering a side portion of the third row area. In addition, in a vehicle, there are trims which cover pillars constituting a frame of the vehicle. The trims may include a front pillar trim disposed in the first row area, a center pillar trim disposed in the second row area, and a rear pillar trim disposed in the third row area. Each of the trims has a shape protruding toward an inner portion of the passenger room in a width direction (a direction from the driver’s seat toward the passenger seat or a direction opposite thereto) intersecting the longitudinal direction. Such a trim may cause a problem of interfering with deployment when the airbag cushion deploys. For example, the airbag cushion has a first chamber, a second chamber, and a third chamber for covering the first row area, the second row area, and the third row area of the vehicle, and the first chamber, the second chamber, and the third chamber are sequentially disposed in the longitudinal direction (the direction from the engine room toward the passenger room). In this case, in order for the airbag cushion to be stored in the vehicle, the third chamber is primarily folded toward the second chamber, and the primarily folded airbag cushion is rolled and secondarily folded in a direction intersecting a direction in which the third chamber is primarily folded. Accordingly, when the conventional airbag cushion having the above-described structure is unfolded to be deployed, two unfolding processes are performed. More specifically, a first unfolding process of unfolding the airbag cushion by rolling a third chamber in a direction from a ceiling surface toward a bottom surface of a passenger room and a second unfolding process of unfolding the airbag cushion by rolling the third chamber after the first unfolding process is completed are performed. Accordingly, the third chamber which is deployed later than the other chambers may come into contact with a side portion of a rear pillar trim when rolled to release a folded state. This may cause delayed deployment of the third chamber, and thus a problem that the third chamber does not deploy within a time range intended in a design process can occur. Accordingly, in order to quickly form a shape for protecting a passenger sitting in a third row area, there is a growing need for research to prevent delayed deployment of an airbag cushion. SUMMARY The present invention is directed to providing a vehicle curtain airbag apparatus that is improved to prevent delayed deployment of an airbag cushion in order to quickly form a shape for protecting a passenger sitting in a third row area. According to an aspect of the present invention, a vehicle curtain airbag apparatus includes an airbag cushion disposed on a side portion of a vehicle and including an active area configured to be inflated by gas and a plurality of inactive areas into which the gas is not introduced and a control tether configured to assist deployment of the airbag cushion, and the control tether connects the plurality of inactive areas of the airbag cushion in a state in which a portion of the airbag cushion is folded. The airbag cushion may includ