Safety device with inflatable bag.

Abstract

The invention relates to a safety device (1) for a motor vehicle (2) of the type comprising at least three rows of seats, the first row comprising the driver's seat, at least one of the second (A) and third (B) rows comprising at least two adjacent seats (3), the device (1) comprising at least one airbag (5), each designed to be deployed by inflation in the event of a collision involving the vehicle (2) equipped with the device (1), at least a portion of an airbag (5) being designed to deploy between the first and second rows (A) and at least a portion of an airbag (5) being designed to deploy between the second (A) and third (B) rows when the device (1) is installed in the vehicle (2). (Figure 1)

Description

Title of the invention: Safety device with inflatable bag.

[0001] The technical field relates to safety devices including an airbag as well as vehicles having at least three rows of seats equipped with such a safety device.

[0002] In terms of safety, car manufacturers have invested heavily to offer increasingly safer vehicles for occupants. One of the major innovations of recent decades has been the widespread adoption of safety airbags, which consist of flexible membranes designed to inflate very rapidly with a gas injected or generated within the membrane by an explosive chemical reaction. Airbags protect occupants by preventing them from violently impacting certain parts of the vehicle's interior.

[0003] Airbags generally include an inflatable bag folded in an airbag casing and a gas generator enabling the bag to be deployed out of the casing by injecting gas into the inflatable bag.

[0004] In modern vehicles, airbags are located in various places in the passenger compartment, such as the dashboard, the central part of the steering wheel, or above the doors or in the door pillars.

[0005] Side collisions account for a quarter of all accidents. Therefore, car manufacturers have developed protective measures to safeguard vehicle occupants during a side impact. These measures include airbags that deploy like curtains from the top of the doors, forming a protective barrier between the passenger and the side of the vehicle entering the passenger compartment upon impact. These solutions have significantly reduced the consequences of a side impact for the passenger seated on the side of the impact, known as the front passenger.

[0006] However, statistics show that the consequences of a side impact for the passenger(s) seated in the middle and / or on the opposite side of the vehicle, also known as the rear passengers, remain significant. Furthermore, airbags deploying between the passengers and the impacted side of the vehicle are not sufficient to completely protect passengers seated close to the vehicle. Indeed, it is very common for passengers in adjacent seats to suffer head or chest injuries when colliding with their neighbor. Solutions exist for front passengers by providing airbags positioned between them, but these solutions are insufficient to protect all passengers in a vehicle, regardless of their seat location, against collisions between passengers. Furthermore, for vehicles equipped with a third row of seats, no protection is generally provided to the passengers in these seats.

[0007] Thus, there is a need for a solution to improve passenger safety, particularly for those in the second and third rows, against collisions between passengers.

[0008] The present invention aims to overcome the problems described above. In this technical context, one objective of the present invention is to provide a safety device to reduce or prevent collisions between passengers when the vehicle undergoes a side impact.

[0009] To this end, the present invention relates to a safety device for a motor vehicle of the type comprising at least three rows of seats, the first row comprising the driver's seat, at least one of the second and third rows comprising at least two adjacent seats, the device comprising at least one airbag each designed to be deployed by inflation in the event of a collision suffered by the vehicle equipped with the device, at least a part of an airbag being designed to deploy between the first and second rows and at least a part of an airbag being designed to deploy between the second and third rows when the device is installed in the vehicle.

[0010] The invention finally relates to a motor vehicle having at least three rows of seats, the first row comprising the driver's seat, at least one of the second and third rows comprising at least two adjacent seats, the vehicle being equipped with at least one safety device according to the invention, at least a part of an airbag of the device deploying between the first and second rows and at least a part of an airbag deploying between the second and third rows, in the event of a collision suffered by the vehicle.

[0011] Thus, the safety device according to the invention allows a portion of an airbag to be deployed between the first and second rows, and also between the second and third rows. The safety device is particularly well-suited for placement between two adjacent seats to protect passengers from collisions with their neighbors.

[0012] According to one embodiment of the safety device, at least one airbag is designed to deploy between two adjacent seats to protect passengers in the two adjacent seats from collisions between passengers.

[0013] According to one possibility of the safety device, at least one airbag is designed to protect the head and / or thorax of at least one passenger in the second and / or third row.

[0014] In one embodiment of the invention, the device is designed to be installed in a backrest of a second-row seat.

[0015] Advantageously, at least one airbag is designed to lower an armrest of the second row seat when it deploys.

[0016] According to one possibility, the safety device comprises an airbag separated into a first and a second chamber by at least one sealed seam, the first chamber being designed to deploy between the first and second rows and the second chamber being designed to deploy between the second and third rows when the device is installed on the vehicle.

[0017] Advantageously, each of the first and second chambers is supplied by a separate gas generator.

[0018] In one embodiment of the device, it includes control means designed to prevent the deployment of at least part of an airbag when a passenger occupies a seat that could interfere with the deployment of the airbag or when the third row seats are folded down.

[0019] According to one possibility of the motor vehicle, when a part of an airbag is deployed between the second and third rows, this part of the airbag comes into contact with a backrest of a seat in the third row.

[0020] The invention will be better understood upon reading the following detailed description, given solely by way of non-limiting example and made with reference to the accompanying drawing in which:

[0021] [Fig-1] [Fig.1] represents a schematic side view of a motor vehicle according to the invention showing a safety device according to the invention with each airbag deployed.

[0022] A safety device 1 according to the invention, schematically shown in the figure, is designed to equip a motor vehicle 2 of the type comprising at least three rows of seats, the first row (not shown) comprising the driver's seat. In the figure, only the second row A and the third row B are shown. In the vehicle 2, at least one of the second A and third B rows comprises at least two adjacent seats 3. For example, the second row A comprises three seats 3. For example, the third row B comprises several folding seats 4. The seats in the second row A can be separated by several individual seats 4 or form a single bench seat.

[0023] The safety device 1 according to the invention comprises at least one airbag 5, each designed to be deployed by inflation in the event of a collision involving the vehicle equipped with the safety device 1. Inflation of each airbag 5 is achieved using one or more gas generators 6, as shown schematically in the figure.

[0024] In the device 1 according to the invention, at least a portion of an airbag 5 is designed to deploy between the first row and the second row A and at least a portion of an airbag 5 is designed to deploy between the second row A and the third row B, when device 1 is installed in vehicle 2. In this case, the safety device 1 comprises a single airbag 5 separated into a first 7 and a second 8 chambers by at least one sealed seam 9, the first chamber 7 being designed to deploy between the first and second row A and the second chamber 8 being designed to deploy between the second A and third row B, when device 1 is installed on vehicle 2. Advantageously, each of the first 7 and second 8 chambers is supplied by a separate gas generator 6.

[0025] In the example illustrated in the figure, the device 1 is designed to be installed in a backrest 10 of a seat 4 in the second row A.

[0026] In the described embodiment, the airbag 5 is designed to deploy between two adjacent seats 3 to protect passengers in those two adjacent seats 3 from collisions between passengers. Advantageously, each airbag 5 is designed to protect the head and / or chest of at least one passenger in the second A and / or third B row.

[0027] When the second row A seat 4 in which the safety device 1 is installed is equipped with an armrest 11, the airbag 5 has a conformation allowing the armrest 11 of seat 4 to be lowered during its deployment.

[0028] In order to prevent injury to passengers of the vehicle 2 according to the invention, the safety device 1 advantageously includes control means, not shown in the figure, designed to prevent the deployment of at least part of the airbag 5 when a passenger occupies a seat 3 that could obstruct the deployment of the airbag 5 or when the seats 4 of the third row B are folded down. The first scenario occurs, for example, when the second row A has three seats 4 and a passenger is sitting in the middle seat. The control means are also designed to inhibit the deployment of the second chamber 8 when the seats of the third row B are folded down.

[0029] Finally, in the embodiment of the vehicle 2 according to the invention, during the deployment of a part of the airbag 5, in this case during the deployment of the second chamber 8, between the second A and third B rows, the second chamber 8 of the airbag 5 comes into contact with a backrest 10 of a seat 4 of the third row B.

[0030] Thus, the safety device 1 according to the invention allows a part of the airbag 5 to be deployed between the first row and the second row A and also between the second row A and the third row B. The safety device 1 is particularly suitable for being placed between two adjacent seats 3 to protect passengers against collisions with their neighbors.

[0031] The invention is not limited to the embodiment of the safety device described above, which is given only as an example, but other embodiments may be designed by a person skilled in the art without going outside the scope and scope of the present invention.

Claims

Demands

1. Safety device (1) for a motor vehicle (2) of the type comprising at least three rows of seats, the first row comprising the driver's seat, at least one of the second (A) and third (B) rows comprising at least two adjacent seats (3), the device (1) comprising at least one airbag (5) each designed to be deployed by inflation in the event of a collision to the vehicle (2) equipped with the device (1), at least a portion of an airbag (5) being designed to deploy between the first row and the second row (A) and at least a portion of an airbag (5) being designed to deploy between the second row (A) and the third row (B) when the device (1) is installed in the vehicle (2).

2. Safety device (1) according to claim 1, characterized in that at least one airbag (5) is designed to deploy between two adjacent seats (3) to protect passengers in the two adjacent seats (3) from collisions between passengers.

3. Safety device (1) according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that at least one airbag (5) is designed to protect the head and / or thorax of at least one passenger in the second (A) and / or third (B) row.

4. Safety device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that the device (1) is designed to be installed in a backrest (10) of a second row seat (4) (A).

5. Safety device (1) according to claim 4, characterized in that at least one airbag (5) is designed to lower an armrest (11) of the second row seat (4) (A) by deploying.

6. Safety device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 5, characterized in that it comprises an airbag (5) separated into a first (7) and a second (8) chamber by at least one sealed seam (9), the first chamber (7) being designed to deploy between the first and second row (A) and the second chamber (8) being designed to deploy between the second (A) and third (B) row when the device (1) is installed on the vehicle.

7. Safety device (1) according to claim 6, characterized in that each of the first (7) and second (8) chambers is supplied by a separate gas generator (6).

8. Safety device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that it comprises control means designed to prevent the deployment of at least a part of an airbag (5) when a passenger occupies a seat (3) which may interfere with the deployment of the airbag (5) or when the seats (4) of the third row (B) are folded down.

9. Motor vehicle (2) having at least three rows of seats, the first row comprising the driver's seat, at least one of the second (A) and third (B) rows comprising at least two adjacent seats (3), the vehicle (2) being equipped with at least one safety device (1) according to any one of claims 1 to 8, at least a portion of an airbag (5) of the device (1) deploying between the first and second (A) rows and at least a portion of an airbag (5) deploying between the second (A) and third (B) rows, in the event of a collision sustained by the vehicle (2).

10. Motor vehicle (2) according to claim 9, characterized in that when a part of an airbag (5) is deployed between the second (A) and third (B) rows, this part of the airbag (5) comes into contact with a backrest (10) of a seat (4) in the third row (B).

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