Passenger airbag device

Abstract

To provide an airbag device for a front passenger seat, capable of inhibiting a front windshield from being strongly pressed in an initial stage of inflation, and allowing an airbag to inflate rapidly.SOLUTION: An airbag device for a front passenger seat is disposed on an upper face side of an instrument panel 1, and includes an airbag 20 capable of inflating with inflation gas flowing into an inside. The airbag includes: a conduit part 23 connected to an inflator 12 on a front end side and disposed so as to extend substantially along a front-rear direction; and a body inflation part 30 configured so as to swell vertically and horizontally from a rear end side of the conduit part and disposed behind the instrument panel upon completion of inflation. The body inflation part is configured so as to allow an upper end 30a side upon completion of inflation to be supported by a front windshield 5 disposed above the instrument panel, and allow a lower front face 31a side to be supported by a rear face 3a of the instrument panel when receiving an occupant upon completion of inflation.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 9

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a passenger seat airbag device of a so-called top-mount type that is disposed on the upper surface side of an instrument panel in front of a passenger seat. [Background technology]

[0002] Typically, in a top-mounted passenger airbag device disposed on the upper surface of the instrument panel, the airbag stored in the storage compartment is configured to inflate while protruding upward from a protrusion opening formed at the top end of the storage compartment and deploying rearward. Therefore, the airbag, as it inflates and protrudes upward, may press strongly against the front windshield located above the instrument panel. To reduce the initial pressure on the front windshield during airbag inflation, a conventional airbag device includes a front inflatable portion that pushes open a door portion of an airbag cover that covers the upper part of the storage compartment to cover the folded airbag, and a rear inflatable portion that inflates and protrudes toward the rear of the vehicle to protect the occupant. In this conventional passenger airbag device, the front inflatable portion pushes open the door portion, and then the rear inflatable portion is inflated to prevent the inflating airbag from pressing strongly against the front windshield (see, for example, Patent Document 1). [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] JP 2017-30631 A Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, in conventional passenger seat airbag devices, the front inflation portion is simply inflated before the rear inflation portion, which encourages the rear inflation portion to protrude rearward of the vehicle and prevents the rear inflation portion from protruding significantly upward toward the front windshield. In the fully inflated state, the front inflation portion is shown to inflate significantly together with the rear inflation portion (see FIG. 6), but the specific outer shape of the front inflation portion is not disclosed. Therefore, there is a risk that the device may not be able to prevent the front windshield from being pressed strongly against the front windshield, depending on the outer shape of the instrument panel, the installation position of the storage area, the tilt of the front windshield, etc.

[0005] The present invention has been made to solve the above-mentioned problems, and has an object to provide a passenger seat airbag device that can prevent the airbag from pressing strongly against the front windshield at the initial stage of inflation and can inflate the airbag quickly. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The passenger seat airbag device according to the present invention is disposed on an upper surface side of an instrument panel in front of the passenger seat and includes an airbag that can be inflated by flowing inflation gas therein, an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag, and a storage portion that stores the folded airbag and the inflator, A passenger seat airbag device configured such that, when inflation gas discharged from an inflator flows into the airbag and the airbag inflates, the airbag protrudes upward from a protrusion opening formed in a storage portion and expands rearward, The airbag, a conduit portion that is connected to the inflator at a front end thereof when inflation is complete and that extends substantially along the front-rear direction; a main inflation portion configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit portion and disposed behind the instrument panel when fully inflated, so as to protect an occupant seated in the passenger seat; The device is configured to include: The main inflation section is characterized in that when inflation is complete, its upper end side is supported by the front windshield located above the instrument panel, and when inflation is complete and the occupant is received, its lower front side is supported by the rear surface of the instrument panel.

[0007] In the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, inflation gas flows into the main inflation portion, which is located at the rear end of the airbag when fully inflated, via a conduit extending rearward from the inflator. The main inflation portion, which is located behind the instrument panel when fully inflated, is configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit. In other words, the conduit is tubular and extends approximately along the front-to-rear direction, with a narrower width than the main inflation portion in all directions. This effectively prevents the conduit, which protrudes upward from a protrusion opening formed in the housing portion, from strongly pressing against the front windshield, which is located above the instrument panel, during the initial inflation stage of the airbag as the inflation gas flows into the airbag and the airbag inflates.

[0008] Therefore, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, it is possible to prevent the front windshield from being strongly pressed at the initial stage of inflation, and to inflate the airbag quickly.

[0009] In addition, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, the upper end of the main inflation portion is supported by the front windshield when the airbag is fully inflated, and the lower front side is supported by the rear surface of the instrument panel when the airbag is fully inflated and receives the occupant. Therefore, when the rear side of the main inflation portion receives the forward moving occupant, the reaction force from the rear surface of the instrument panel and the front windshield can prevent the main inflation portion itself from moving forward, and the main inflation portion can prevent further forward movement of the occupant and accurately restrain the occupant. As a result, the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention can accurately protect the occupant even with an airbag in which the front end area when fully inflated is a conduit.

[0010] Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device of the present invention, if the conduit portion is configured so as not to come into contact with the front windshield when the airbag is fully inflated, it is possible to accurately prevent the conduit portion from coming into contact with the front windshield, which is preferable.

[0011] Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device having the above configuration, if the conduit portion is configured to be positioned so as to be approximately aligned with the upper surface of the instrument panel when the airbag is fully inflated, the reaction force when the main inflation portion receives the occupant can be secured also from the upper surface of the instrument panel, which is in contact with the lower surface of the conduit portion when the airbag is fully inflated, which is preferable.

[0012] Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device configured as described above, if the main inflation portion is configured to have a knee protection portion on the lower side when inflation is complete, which is positioned in front of the occupant's knees when inflation is complete, then in addition to protecting the upper body with the main inflation portion, the knees can also be protected by the knee protection portion at the same time. This eliminates the need to install a separate knee protection device, and enables reductions in the number of parts and weight, which is preferable.

[0013] Furthermore, in the passenger seat airbag device having the above configuration, the rear side of the main body inflation portion when fully inflated is configured as an occupant protection surface that can receive an occupant moving forward in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, It is preferable to form a protruding inflation portion that inflates so as to protrude rearward from the occupant protection surface near the end portion on the central side in the vehicle width direction when inflation of the main inflation portion is complete.

[0014] If the passenger seat airbag device is configured in this manner, in the event of an oblique collision or offset collision in which an impact force acts from diagonally forward, the protruding inflation portion can restrain the head of the occupant who moves diagonally forward toward the center of the vehicle's width, thereby ensuring appropriate protection of the occupant not only in a frontal collision but also in an oblique collision or offset collision. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0015] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of a passenger airbag device according to a first embodiment of the present invention, when mounted on a vehicle. [Figure 2] 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an airbag used in a passenger seat airbag device of a first embodiment is inflated by itself. [Figure 3] 3 is a schematic longitudinal cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 2 taken along the longitudinal direction. [Figure 4] 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 2 taken along the longitudinal direction. [Figure 5] 3 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the positions of upper and lower tethers in a conduit portion in the airbag of FIG. 2. FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 4 is a plan view of the panels that make up the airbag of FIG. 3, arranged side by side. [Figure 7] 2 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the airbag has completed inflation in the passenger seat airbag device of the first embodiment. FIG. [Figure 8] 3 is a schematic rear view of the passenger seat airbag device of the first embodiment, showing the airbag in a fully inflated state, as viewed from the rear side of the vehicle. FIG. [Figure 9] 1 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an airbag has completed inflation in a passenger seat airbag device according to a first embodiment. [Figure 10] FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an airbag has completed inflation in an airbag device for a passenger's seat according to a second embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 11] 10 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view showing a state in which an airbag used in a passenger seat airbag device of a second embodiment is inflated by itself. FIG. [Figure 12] 12 is a schematic rear view of the airbag of FIG. 11, seen from the direction A shown in FIG. [Figure 13] 12 is a schematic rear view of the airbag of FIG. 11, seen from the B direction side shown in FIG. [Figure 14] 14 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 11, corresponding to the XIV-XIV portion of FIG. 11. [Figure 15] 12 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 11, corresponding to the XV-XV portion of FIG. 11. [Figure 16] 16 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 11, corresponding to the XVI-XVI portion of FIG. [Figure 17] FIG. 12 is a plan view of the panels that make up the airbag of FIG. 11 arranged side by side. [Figure 18] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view showing a state in which the airbag has completed inflation in the passenger seat airbag device of the second embodiment. [Figure 19] FIG. 10 is a schematic plan view of a modified airbag in an inflated state when mounted on a vehicle. [Figure 20] FIG. 20 is a schematic rear view of the airbag of FIG. 19 inflated while mounted on a vehicle. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0016] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. A passenger airbag device (hereinafter referred to as "airbag device") M1 of a first embodiment is a top-mount type that is disposed on the upper surface side of an instrument panel (hereinafter referred to as "instrument panel") 1, as shown in FIG. 1 . Specifically, the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment is mounted on the upper surface side (upper surface portion 2 side) of the instrument panel 1 in a region near the front end 2a. Specifically, the instrument panel 1 of a vehicle V1 on which the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment is mounted is configured to be wide in the front-to-rear direction (to protrude significantly rearward toward the occupant MP), and has an upper surface portion 2 that is slightly inclined so as to slope slightly downward toward the rear, and a rear surface portion 3 that is inclined so as to extend obliquely downward from the rear end side of the upper surface portion 2. In addition, in a vehicle V1 equipped with the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, the front windshield 5 disposed above the instrument panel 1 is also configured to have a relatively small inclination with respect to the horizontal direction, as shown in Fig. 1. The airbag device M1 is mounted in a position near the front end 2a of the upper surface portion 2 of the instrument panel 1. In the embodiments, the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions correspond to the front-rear, up-down, and left-right directions of the vehicle, unless otherwise specified.

[0017] As shown in FIG. 1, the airbag device M1 includes a folded airbag 20, an inflator 12 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 20, a case 16 that serves as a storage area for storing and holding the airbag 20 and the inflator 12, a retainer 13 that attaches the airbag 20 and the inflator 12 to the case 16, and an airbag cover 10 that covers the folded airbag 20.

[0018] In this embodiment, the airbag cover 10 is formed integrally with the instrument panel 1 made of synthetic resin, and is configured so that when the airbag 20 is deployed and inflated, the two front and rear door portions 10a, 10b are pushed open by the airbag 20. In addition, a connecting wall portion 10c that is connected to the case 16 is formed around the door portions 10a, 10b of the airbag cover 10.

[0019] As shown in FIG. 1, the inflator 12 includes a substantially cylindrical main body 12a having a plurality of gas discharge ports 12b, and a flange 12c for attaching the inflator 12 to the case 16.

[0020] The case 16 serving as the storage portion is made of sheet metal and has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape with a generally rectangular projection opening 16c at its upper end. As shown in Fig. 1, the case 16 includes a generally rectangular bottom wall 16a into which the inflator 12 is inserted from below to be attached, and a peripheral wall 16b that extends upward from the outer periphery of the bottom wall 16a and engages with the connecting wall 10c of the airbag cover 10. In this embodiment, the case 16 is configured so that its left and right sides are wider, as shown in Fig. 7. The airbag 20 and the inflator 12 are connected to the bottom wall 16a of the case 16 by fastening them with nuts 14 using bolts 13a of a retainer 13 disposed inside the airbag 20 as attachment means, which are passed through the periphery of an inlet opening 24 (described later) of the airbag 20, the bottom wall 16a of the case 16, and a flange 12c of the inflator 12. The case 16 is provided with a bracket (not shown) that is connected to the body of the vehicle.

[0021] As shown in Fig. 9, the airbag 20 is disposed between the instrument panel 1 and the front windshield 5 when fully inflated, and as shown in Figs. 2 to 5, the airbag 20 includes a bag main body 21 and upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R, left and right tethers 45, and front and rear tethers 50U, 50D disposed inside the bag main body 21 and regulating the shape of the bag main body 21 when fully inflated. The bag main body 21 includes a substantially cylindrical conduit portion 23 and a main body inflation portion 30 disposed on the rear end 23b side of the conduit portion 23. The airbag 20 of this embodiment has a fully inflated shape that is substantially symmetrical about an inlet opening 24 (described later) formed in the conduit portion 23.

[0022] The conduit portion 23 is located above the upper surface portion 2 of the instrument panel 1 when the airbag 20 is fully inflated. It has a generally cylindrical shape that extends substantially along the front-to-rear direction and is closed at the front end 23a, and is connected to the inflator 12 at the front end 23a (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 9). As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the underside of the front end 23a of the conduit portion 23 when inflation is complete has an inlet opening 24 that is generally circular and allows inflation gas to flow into the conduit portion 23. The main body 12a of the inflator 12 can be inserted into the inlet opening 24. The inlet opening 24 has a plurality of (four in this embodiment) mounting holes 25 formed at its periphery for receiving the bolts 13a of the retainer 13 therethrough to mount the periphery of the inlet opening 24 to the bottom wall 16a of the case 16. The width of conduit 23 in the left-right direction is smaller than that of main inflatable portion 30, and the width of conduit 23 in the up-down direction (thickness at full inflation) is also smaller than that of main inflatable portion 30 (see FIGS. 3 and 4). Specifically, the width of conduit 23 at its front end 23a is configured to be approximately the same as that of case 16, and the width is configured to be slightly wider toward its rear end 23b, which is the main inflatable portion 30 side (see FIG. 7). When bag body 21 is fully inflated while mounted on the vehicle, conduit 23 is arranged to cover the upper side of upper surface portion 2 of instrument panel 1 and not in contact with front windshield 5 (to provide a gap between conduit 23 and front windshield 5). More specifically, conduit 23 is arranged to substantially follow upper surface 2b of upper surface portion 2 (with substantially the entire lower surface 23c in contact with upper surface 2b of upper surface portion 2) (see FIG. 9).

[0023] As shown in Figures 2 to 4, the main body inflation section 30 is configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end 23b of the conduit 23, and is disposed in a position that is rearward of the instrument panel 1 when the bag body 21 is fully inflated while the airbag is installed in the vehicle, so that it can protect primarily the upper body MU of an occupant MP seated in the passenger seat (see Figures 8 and 9). More specifically, in the airbag 20 of this embodiment, the main body inflation section 30 is disposed in a position that is rearward of the upper surface section 2 of the instrument panel 1 (rearward of the rear surface section 3) when the airbag is fully inflated while the airbag is installed in the vehicle. The main body inflation section 30 has a front wall section 31 that extends in all directions from the conduit 23, and a rear wall section 32 that is disposed on the rear side when inflation is complete, and has a generally rectangular plate shape that is slightly wider in the vertical direction when fully inflated. The rear wall portion 32 is disposed substantially vertically so as to face the upper body MU of the occupant MP seated in the passenger seat when the airbag 20 is fully inflated. The main body inflatable portion 30 has a width dimension (the amount of upward projection from the conduit portion 23 and the amount of downward projection from the conduit portion 23) set so that, when fully inflated, the upper end 30a is supported by the front windshield 5 and the lower side is positioned in front of the rear portion 3 of the instrument panel 1, so that the front side of the lower portion (the lower portion 31a of the front wall portion 31) is supported by the rear surface 3a of the rear portion 3 when the occupant is received at the fully inflated state. In this embodiment, the main body inflatable portion 30 is configured so that, when the airbag 20 is fully inflated, the lower portion 31a of the front wall portion 31 is positioned substantially along the rear surface 3a of the rear portion 3 of the instrument panel 1 and comes into contact with the rear surface 3a. Furthermore, the left-right width dimension of the main inflation portion 30 when fully inflated is set to be larger than the left-right width dimension of the conduit portion 23, and is set to a dimension that can widely cover the front of the upper body MU of the occupant MP seated in the passenger seat (see FIG. 8). Specifically, the main inflation portion 30 is configured so that when fully inflated, it is wider left-right than the upper body MU of the occupant MP.More specifically, when the bag body 21 is fully inflated, the main inflation portion 30 is configured so that the upper end 30a side portion (upper supported portion 33) is supported in contact with the front windshield 5 over substantially the entire left and right area, and the front side of the lower portion (the lower portion 31a side of the front wall portion 31) is supported in contact with the rear surface 3a of the rear portion 3 of the instrument panel 1 over substantially the entire left and right area. The upper supported portion 33, which is supported in contact with the front windshield 5, has a contact amount (contact area) set to an amount (dimension) that allows the contact state with the front windshield 5 to be maintained even when it receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP moving forward. Furthermore, the thickness dimension of the main inflation portion 30 when fully inflated is set to a dimension that prevents the upper body MU of the forward-moving occupant MP from bottoming out against the rear portion 3 when the upper body MU is received by the region (lower supported portion 34) whose front side (towards the lower portion 31a of the front wall portion 31) is supported by the rear portion 3 of the instrument panel 1, thereby enabling the occupant MP to be adequately protected. In the main inflation portion 30, substantially circular vent holes 35, 35 are formed in the left and right edge sides of the front wall portion 31 in areas near the rear side of the conduit portion 23 for discharging excess inflation gas that has flowed into the airbag 20.

[0024] The upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R are disposed within the region of the conduit 23 to regulate the thickness (the width dimension in the vertical direction) of the conduit 23 when the bag body 21 is fully inflated. As shown in FIGS. 3 to 5, the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R are disposed in a region in the rear half of the conduit 23, which is rearward of the inflow opening 24 (more specifically, the region disposed behind the case 16 when mounted on the vehicle; see FIG. 9), and in a region near the center between the left and right sides. As shown in FIG. 6, each tether is formed of a substantially trapezoidal tether base material 62. Each of the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R is disposed so that the narrow end of the tether base material 62 is positioned forward, with the width narrowed toward the front end 40a and expanding toward the rear end 40b (see FIG. 3). Furthermore, the upper edge 40c side and the lower edge 40d side of each of the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R are joined (sewn) to the upper region 23d and the lower region 23e of the conduit portion 23 so as to form seam regions 42UL, 42DL, 42UR, and 42DR over substantially the entire length, respectively, and are arranged so as to extend substantially along the front-to-rear direction when the airbag 20 is fully inflated (see FIGS. 4 and 5). More specifically, the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R are arranged in front regions 56L, 56R of a front left panel 55L and a front right panel 55R (described later) that constitute the bag body 21, in regions where the upper and lower edges are curved so as to widen toward the rear (regions behind protrusions 57L, 57R) (see FIG. 6).

[0025] The left and right tethers 45 are disposed within the area of ​​the main body inflatable portion 30 to restrict the left-right width of the main body inflatable portion 30 when the bag body 21 is fully inflated. As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 , the left and right tethers 45 are disposed approximately in the vertical center of the main body inflatable portion 30 when inflation is complete, connecting the left edge 30b and the right edge 30c, with their width direction aligned substantially along the vertical direction and the horizontal direction. In this embodiment, the left and right tethers 45 are formed by connecting two strip-shaped tether substrates 63, 63 in series. More specifically, the left and right tethers 45 are sewn (connected) to each other at seams 47L, 47R near the rear edges 55c of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R that constitute the bag body 21 (see FIGS. 4 and 6 ).

[0026] The front and rear tethers 50U, 50D are disposed within the area of ​​the main body inflatable portion 30 in the bag body 21 at full inflation, and are arranged substantially along the front-to-rear direction so as to connect the front wall 31 and the rear wall 32 of the main body inflatable portion 30. The front and rear tethers 50U, 50D are arranged to regulate the separation distance between the front wall 31 and the rear wall 32 of the main body inflatable portion 30 (the thickness of the main body inflatable portion 30) in the bag body 21 at full inflation, and to cooperate with the left and right tethers 45 to stably maintain the fully inflated shape of the main body inflatable portion 30 in a substantially rectangular plate shape. In detail, the front and rear tethers 50U, 50D are arranged side by side at two locations, one above the other, substantially in the left-to-right center of the main body inflatable portion 30 at full inflation, with their width direction aligned substantially along the up-down direction and tilted so as to approach each other toward the rear end 50b (the rear wall 32) when the bag body 21 at full inflation is viewed from the left and right (see FIG. 3). More specifically, the front and rear tethers 50U, 50D are configured to have approximately the same length, with their front ends 50a located near the boundary between the conduit 23 and the front wall 31 of the main inflatable portion 30, and their rear ends 50b located close to each other in the vertical direction at approximately the center of the rear wall 32 of the main inflatable portion 30. Specifically, each of the front and rear tethers 50U, 50D is configured by joining two strip-shaped tether base materials 64, 65 in series, with the front ends 50a sewn together with the upper edges 55a, 55a or the lower edges 55b, 55b of the front left panels 55L, 55R and the front right panels, and the rear ends 50b sewn together with the inner edges 60a, 60a of the rear left panel 60L and the rear right panel 60R (described later) that constitute the bag body 21 (see FIGS. 3, 4, and 6).

[0027] The bag body 21 is formed into a bag shape by joining the peripheral edges of a base material (base fabric) of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 6, it is composed of a front left panel 55L, a front right panel 55R, a rear left panel 60L, and a rear right panel 60R.

[0028] The front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R constitute the area from the conduit 23 to the front wall 31 of the main inflatable portion 30, and as shown in Fig. 6, their external shapes are substantially symmetrical. Each of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R includes a front portion 56L, 56R that constitutes the conduit 23 and a rear portion 58L, 58R that constitutes the front wall 31 of the main inflatable portion 30. Protrusions 57L, 57R that constitute the peripheral area of ​​the inlet opening 24 are formed at the front lower ends of the front portions 56L, 56R so as to protrude downward. The front portions 56L, 56R are configured with curved upper and lower edges so that the rear area (specifically, the area rearward of the protrusions 57L, 57R) is slightly widened toward the rear (toward the rear portions 58L, 58R). The rear portions 58L, 58R are connected to the front portions 56L, 56R, and are curved with the upper edge and the lower edge further separated from each other, so that they are wider in the vertical direction.

[0029] The rear left panel 60L and the rear right panel 60R constitute the rear wall portion 32 of the main body inflatable portion 30, and have an approximately bilaterally symmetrical outer shape as shown in Fig. 6. The rear left panel 60L and the rear right panel 60R are configured so that the curved shape of the outer edge 60b approximately matches the curved shape of the rear edge 55c of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R.

[0030] In the embodiment, the front left panel 55L, front right panel 55R, rear left panel 60L, rear right panel 60R that constitute the bag body 21, and the tether substrates 62, 63, 64, 65 that constitute the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R, the left and right tethers 45, and the front and rear tethers 50L, 50R are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

[0031] Next, the manufacture of the airbag 20 according to this embodiment will be described. The upper and lower edges of the tether substrates 62, 62 constituting the upper and lower tethers 40L, 40R are sewn to the inner surfaces of the front left and right panels 55L, 55R in advance, forming seam regions 42UL, 42DL, 42UR, and 42DR along substantially the entire length. One end of each of the tether substrates 63, 63 constituting the left and right tethers 45 is sewn to the inner surfaces of the front left and right panels 55L, 55R. The inner edges 60a of the rear left and right panels 60L, 60R are sewn together in advance. At this time, the ends of the two tether substrates 65, 65 constituting the upper and lower front and rear tethers 50U, 50D are sewn together while sandwiched between them. First, the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R are overlapped, and the lower edges 55b, 55b are sewn together. At this time, the tether substrate 64 constituting the lower front and rear tether 50D is also overlapped, and the ends are sewn together. Next, the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R are opened so that the upper edges 55a, 55a are separated from each other, and the protruding portions 57L, 57R are overlapped and sewn together at the portion that will become the periphery of the inlet opening 24. Next, the inlet opening 24 and the attachment hole 25 are opened. After that, the upper edges 55a, 55a of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R are sewn together. At this time, the tether substrate 64 constituting the upper front and rear tether 50U is also overlapped, and the ends are sewn together. Next, the rear edge 55c of the front left panel 55L is sewn to the outer edge 60b of the rear left panel 60L, and similarly, the rear edge 55c of the front right panel 55R is sewn to the outer edge 60b of the rear right panel 60R. Thereafter, the bag body 21 is inverted using the unsewn areas on the front edges 55d of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R. By using these unsewn opening areas to sew together the corresponding ends of the tether substrates 63, 64, and 65, the front and rear tethers 50U and 50D and the left and right tethers 45 are formed. Thereafter, the front edges 55d of the front left panel 55L and the front right panel 55R are folded in half and sewn together using sewing thread, thereby completing the airbag 20.

[0032] Next, the installation of the airbag device M1 in the vehicle V1 will be described. First, the airbag 20 is folded so as to be storable within the case 16 with the retainer 13 stored inside, and the folded airbag 20 is wrapped in a wrapping material (not shown) that can be broken when the airbag 20 inflates. The folded airbag 20 is then stored within the case 16 with the bolts 13a protruding from the bottom wall 16a. The main body 12a of the inflator 12 is then inserted into the case 16 from below the bottom wall 16a, and the bolts 13a of the retainer 13 protruding downward from the bottom wall 16a are inserted into the flange 12c of the inflator 12. Nuts 14 are then fastened to the bolts 13a protruding from the flange 12c, thereby attaching the folded airbag 20 and the inflator 12 to the case 16. Thereafter, the peripheral wall portion 16b of the case 16 is engaged with the connecting wall portion 10c of the airbag cover 10 in the instrument panel 1 mounted on the vehicle, a bracket (not shown) provided on the case 16 is fixed to the body side of the vehicle, and the inflator 12 is electrically connected to a control device (not shown), thereby enabling the airbag device M1 to be mounted on the vehicle V1.

[0033] After the airbag device M1 is mounted on the vehicle V1, when inflation gas is discharged from the gas discharge port of the inflator 12, the inflation gas flows into the airbag 20, causing it to inflate and push open the door portions 10a, 10b of the airbag cover 10. The airbag 20 then passes through the projection opening 16c formed by pushing open the door portions 10a, 10b of the airbag cover 10, and expands while projecting rearward and upward from the case 16, completing its inflation as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 1 and FIGS. 7 to 9.

[0034] In the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, inflation gas flows into the main inflation portion 30, which is located at the rear end of the airbag 20 when the airbag 20 is fully inflated, via the conduit 23, which is arranged to extend rearward from the inflator 12. The main inflation portion 30, which is located at the rear of the instrument panel 1 when the airbag 20 is fully inflated, is configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end 23b of the conduit 23. In other words, the conduit 23 is tubular and extends approximately along the front-to-rear direction, with a narrower width in all directions than the main inflation portion 30. Therefore, during the initial stage of inflation of the airbag 20, the conduit 23, which protrudes upward from the protrusion opening 16c formed in the case 16 as a storage portion, can be reliably prevented from strongly pressing against the front windshield 5, which is located above the instrument panel 1, while the airbag 20 is inflated by the flow of inflation gas into the main inflation portion 30. In particular, in a vehicle V1 equipped with the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, the inclination of the front windshield 5 is relatively small, but even when the airbag device M1 is configured to be installed in such a type of vehicle V1, the airbag 20 can be appropriately prevented from strongly pressing against the front windshield 5 when deployed and inflated, and the airbag device M1 can be suitably installed in such a type of vehicle V1.

[0035] Therefore, in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, it is possible to prevent the front windshield 5 from being strongly pressed at the initial stage of inflation, and it is possible to inflate the airbag 20 quickly.

[0036] Furthermore, in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, when the airbag 20 is fully inflated, the main body inflatable portion 30 is configured so that its upper end 30a side (upper supported portion 33) is supported by the front windshield 5, and when the airbag 20 is fully inflated and an occupant is received, its lower front side (front side of the lower supported portion 34) is supported by the rear surface of the instrument panel 1 (rear surface 3a of the rear portion 3). Therefore, when the rear side (rear wall portion 32) of the main body inflatable portion 30 is fully inflated and receives the forward moving occupant MP (specifically, the upper body MU of the occupant MP), the main body inflatable portion 30 itself can be restricted from moving forward due to the reaction force from the rear surface 3a of the instrument panel 1 and the front windshield 5, and the main body inflatable portion 30 can suppress further forward movement of the occupant MP and accurately restrain the occupant MP. As a result, in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, even if the airbag 20 has the conduit portion 23 in the region on the front end side when inflation is complete, the occupant MP can be protected reliably.

[0037] In particular, the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment is mounted on the front end side (the front end 2a side of the upper surface portion 2) of the instrument panel 1, which is relatively wide in the longitudinal direction, so as to protrude significantly toward the occupant MP. Therefore, the distance from the mounting position (the position of the case 16) to the area that protects the occupant MP at full inflation (the position of the main inflation portion 30 at full inflation) is longer than that of a conventional top-mounted passenger seat airbag device (the instrument panel 70 of the vehicle V2 mounted with the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment described below). However, the airbag 20 of the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment is configured to have a substantially tubular conduit portion 23 disposed between the main inflation portion 30 that protects the occupant MP at full inflation and the case 16. This makes it possible to minimize an increase in the volume of the airbag itself even when the airbag is mounted on a vehicle V1 that has such an instrument panel 1.

[0038] Furthermore, in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, the conduit portion 23 is configured so as not to come into contact with the front windshield 5 when the airbag 20 is fully inflated. This effectively prevents the conduit portion 23 from coming into contact with the front windshield 5 when the airbag 20 is inflated. If this point is not taken into consideration, an airbag configured so that the conduit portion is located near the front windshield when the airbag 20 is fully inflated may be used.

[0039] Furthermore, in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, the conduit 23 is configured to be disposed so as to be substantially along the upper surface of the instrument panel 1 (upper surface 2b of the upper surface portion 2) when the airbag 20 is fully inflated. Therefore, the reaction force when the main body inflating portion 30 receives the occupant can also be secured from the upper surface 2b of the upper surface portion 2 of the instrument panel 1, with which the lower surface 23c of the conduit 23 is in contact when the airbag 20 is fully inflated. If this point is not taken into consideration, an airbag configured so that the conduit is disposed away from the instrument panel when the airbag 20 is fully inflated may be used.

[0040] Next, an airbag device M2 according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described. In a vehicle V2 equipped with the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment, as shown in FIG. 10, an instrument panel 70 is configured to project less toward the occupant than the instrument panel 1 of the vehicle V1 equipped with the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment. The instrument panel 70 is curved to have a generally inverted C-shaped cross section so that the lower side is inclined forward. Also in the vehicle V2, the front windshield 5A is configured to have a relatively small inclination with respect to the horizontal direction, similar to the front windshield 5 of the vehicle V1. The airbag device M2 of the second embodiment is mounted in a region intermediate between the front and rear of the upper surface 70a of the instrument panel 70.

[0041] As shown in FIG. 10, the airbag device M2 has substantially the same configuration as the airbag device M1 described above, except for the airbag 75, and the same members are denoted by the same reference numerals and detailed description thereof will be omitted.

[0042] As shown in Fig. 10, airbag 75 is disposed between instrument panel 70 and front windshield 5A when fully inflated, and as shown in Figs. 11 to 16, it includes a bag main body 76, and left and right tethers 102, front and rear tethers 103, and thickness-regulating tethers 104L, 104R that are disposed inside bag main body 76 and regulate the shape of bag main body 76 when fully inflated. Bag main body 76 includes a conduit portion 78 and a main body inflation portion 85 that is disposed on the rear end 78b side of conduit portion 78. The fully inflated shape of airbag 75 is also substantially symmetrical about an inlet opening 79 (described later) formed in the conduit portion (see Figs. 12, 13, and 18).

[0043] The conduit 78 is disposed on the upper surface 70a of the instrument panel 70 when the airbag 75 is fully inflated. As shown in FIGS. 11 and 18, the conduit 78 is generally cylindrical and extends substantially along the front-rear direction with a closed front end 78a. The conduit 78 is connected to the inflator 12 at the front end 78a. In this embodiment, the conduit 78 is generally cylindrical and includes an upper wall 78c and a lower wall 78d that face each other vertically when the airbag 75 is fully inflated, and a left wall 78e and a right wall 78f that face each other laterally (see FIG. 14). Similar to the airbag 20 described above, an inlet opening 79 and a mounting hole 80 are formed on the lower surface (lower wall 78d) of the conduit 78 when the airbag 75 is fully inflated (see FIGS. 11 and 17). The left-right width of the conduit 78 is also set smaller than that of the main body inflation portion 85. Specifically, the left-right width is set smaller than that of the case 16, and the width is configured to be substantially constant across the entire front-to-rear area (see FIG. 18 ). The conduit 78 is also configured to cover the upper surface of the instrument panel 70 and be out of contact with the front windshield 5A (a gap is provided between the conduit 78 and the front windshield 5A) when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated while the bag is mounted on the vehicle (see FIG. 10 ). The conduit 78 is also positioned substantially along the upper surface 70a of the instrument panel 70 (with substantially the entire lower surface of the lower wall portion 78d in contact with the upper surface 70a of the instrument panel 70) as shown in FIG. 10 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated.

[0044] The main body inflation section 85 is configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit section 78, and is positioned behind the instrument panel 70 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated while the bag is installed in the vehicle, to protect the upper body MU to knees K of an occupant MP seated in the passenger seat (see FIGS. 10 and 18). Specifically, as shown in FIG. 10, the main body inflation section 85 includes an upper body protection section 86 that is positioned on the upper side when inflation is complete and protects the upper body MU, and a knee protection section 95 that is positioned on the lower side when inflation is complete and protects the knees K.

[0045] Upper body protection portion 86 is configured to bulge upward and to both the left and right sides from conduit portion 78 when bag main body 76 is fully inflated, and has a flat, approximately triangular prism shape with its axial direction aligned with the left-right direction when fully inflated. Upper body protection portion 86 includes a rear wall portion 91 that is positioned on the occupant MP side when fully inflated, an upper wall portion 87 and a lower wall portion 88 that are opposed vertically when fully inflated, and a left wall portion 89 and a right wall portion 90 that are opposed laterally when fully inflated (see FIGS. 10, 11, and 15). When fully inflated while mounted in a vehicle, rear wall portion 91 is configured to be aligned substantially vertically so as to face the upper body MU of the occupant MP (see FIG. 10). Upper body protection portion 86 is also configured so that an upper end 86a of upper body protection portion 86 is supported by abutting against front windshield 5A when fully inflated. 18 , the left-right width of upper body protection portion 86 when fully inflated is set to be larger than the left-right width of conduit portion 78 so that it can widely cover the area in front of the upper body MU of an occupant MP seated in the passenger seat. Upper body protection portion 86 is configured so that the portion on the side of its upper end 86a (upper supported portion 93) when fully inflated is supported by being in contact with the front windshield 5A over substantially the entire left and right area. Similar to the airbag 20 described above, the amount of contact (contact area) of upper supported portion 93 with the front windshield 5A is set to be an amount (dimension) that allows it to maintain contact with the front windshield 5A even when it receives the upper body MU of an occupant MP moving forward.

[0046] The knee protection portion 95 is configured to bulge downward from the conduit portion 78 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated, and is disposed so as to extend below the upper body protection portion 86. This knee protection portion 95 is disposed rearward of the lower region of the instrument panel 70 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated, and is inclined so as to extend downwardly and forward from the front lower end 86b of the upper body protection portion 86 when viewed from the left and right sides, so as to generally follow the rear surface 70b of the lower side of the instrument panel 70 (see FIGS. 10 and 11). When viewed from the front-rear direction, the knee protection portion 95 is configured so that an upper region on the upper body protection portion 86 side is a narrow portion 95a that narrows toward the upper end, and a lower region is a wide portion 95b that widens left and right (see FIG. 13). Specifically, the knee protection portion 95 includes a front wall portion 96 and a rear wall portion 97 that face each other from front to back when fully inflated, and a left wall portion 98 and a right wall portion 99 that face each other from left to right when fully inflated (see FIG. 16 ), and is configured so that its front side (the area of ​​the front wall portion 96) comes into contact with the rear surface 70b of the instrument panel 70 when fully inflated (see FIGS. 10 and 11 ). That is, in the airbag 75 of this embodiment, the entire knee protection portion 95 is supported by the rear surface 70b of the instrument panel 70 when the bag body 76 is fully inflated. The knee protection portion 95 has a lateral width dimension (specifically, the width dimension of the wide portion 95b) that is set to be larger than the lateral width dimension of the upper body protection portion 86 when fully inflated so as to be able to widely cover the areas in front of the left and right knees of the occupant MP (see FIGS. 12 , 13 , and 18 ). The thickness dimension of the knee protection part 95 when fully inflated is set to a dimension that can prevent the knees K from bottoming out on the instrument panel 70 and adequately protect the knees K when the knee protection part 95 receives the knees K of the occupant MP moving forward.

[0047] The left and right tethers 102 are disposed within the area of ​​the upper body protection part 86 to regulate the fully inflated shape of the upper body protection part 86 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated. The left and right tethers 102 are disposed approximately in the front-to-back, top-to-bottom center of the upper body protection part 86 when fully inflated, with their width direction aligned approximately along the up-down direction and the left-to-right direction so as to connect the left wall part 89 and the right wall part 90 (see FIGS. 11, 12, and 15). The left and right tethers 102 are formed by connecting two tether substrates 125, 125 in series.

[0048] The front and rear tethers 103 are disposed within the area of ​​the upper body protection part 86 in order to regulate the fully inflated shape of the upper body protection part 86 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated. The front and rear tethers 103 connect the approximate left and right centers of the left and right tethers 102 to the approximate top, bottom, left, and right centers of the rear wall part 97 of the upper body protection part 86, and are disposed such that the strip-shaped tether substrate 126 extends approximately along the front-rear direction with its width direction aligned approximately along the up-down direction (see FIGS. 11 and 15). The front and rear tethers 103 and the left and right tethers 102 have approximately the same width dimension.

[0049] The thickness-regulating tethers 104L, 104R are disposed within the region of the knee protection portion 95 to regulate the thickness of the knee protection portion 95 when the bag main body 76 is fully inflated. Two thickness-regulating tethers 104L, 104R are disposed side by side on the left and right sides, and, more specifically, as shown in Fig. 13, are disposed within the region of the narrow portion 95a of the knee protection portion 95. As shown in Fig. 17, the thickness-regulating tethers 104L, 104R are each formed from a substantially trapezoidal tether base material 127, and are disposed such that the narrow end of the tether base material 127 is located on the front side (front wall portion side), with the front end 104a side narrow and the tether widens toward the rear end 104b side, which is on the occupant MP side (see Figs. 10 and 11). Furthermore, the thickness-regulating tethers 104L and 104R are arranged with their width direction inclined relative to the vertical direction (in a V-shape when viewed from the front-to-back direction) so that their upper edges approach each other (see Figure 13).

[0050] The bag body 76 is formed into a bag shape by joining the peripheral edges of a base material (base fabric) of a predetermined shape, and in this embodiment, as shown in Figure 17, it is composed of an upper rear panel 110, a lower front panel 115, a left panel 120L, and a right panel 120R.

[0051] The upper rear panel 110 constitutes the rear region of the upper wall 78c of the conduit 78 and the region of the main inflatable portion 85 extending from the upper wall 87 of the upper body protection portion 86 through the rear wall 91 to the lower wall 88. As shown in Fig. 17 , the upper rear panel 110 is elongated and has a substantially bilaterally symmetrical shape, with a conduit component 111 that constitutes the upper wall 78c of the conduit 78 and a main body component 112 that constitutes the main inflatable portion 85 connected in series. The lower front panel 115 constitutes the region from the lower wall 78d of the conduit 78 to the front of the upper wall 78c, and the region of the knee protection portion 95 extending from the front wall 96 to the rear wall 97. The lower front panel 115 is also elongated, with a conduit component 116 that forms the conduit 78 and a main body component 117 that forms the knee protection part 95 connected in series, and is generally bilaterally symmetrical (see FIG. 17 ). The left and right panels 120L, 120R have generally bilaterally symmetrical exterior shapes. The left panel 120L forms the areas of the conduit 78, upper body protection part 86, and left wall parts 78e, 89, and 98 of the knee protection part 95, while the right panel 120R forms the areas of the conduit 78, upper body protection part 86, and right wall parts 78f, 90, and 99 of the knee protection part 95. The bag body 76 is made into a bag shape by joining (sewing) the corresponding short edges 110c, 115c, 110d, 115d of the upper rear panel 110 and the lower front panel 115 to each other, and by joining (sewing) the outer edges 120a of the left panel 120L and the right panel 120R to the long edges 110a, 110b, 115a, 115b of the upper rear panel 110 and the lower front panel 115, respectively.

[0052] The upper rear panel 110, lower front panel 115, left side panel 120L, right side panel 120R that make up the bag body 76, and the tether substrates 125, 126, 127 that make up the left and right tethers 102, front and rear tethers 103, and thickness-regulating tethers 104L, 104R are each formed from flexible woven fabric made of polyester yarn, polyamide yarn, or the like.

[0053] In the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment using this airbag 75, inflation gas flows into the main inflation portion 85, which is located at the rear end of the airbag 75 when the airbag 75 is fully inflated, via the conduit 78, which is arranged to extend rearward from the inflator 12. The main inflation portion 85, which is located at the rear of the instrument panel 70 when the airbag 75 is fully inflated, is configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end 78b of the conduit 78. In other words, the conduit 78 is tubular and extends approximately along the front-to-rear direction, with a narrower width in all directions than the main inflation portion 85. Therefore, during the initial stage of inflation of the airbag 75, the conduit 78, which protrudes upward from the protrusion opening 16c formed in the case 16, can be reliably prevented from strongly pressing against the front windshield 5A located above the instrument panel 70 while the airbag 75 is inflated by the flow of inflation gas into the main inflation portion 85.

[0054] Furthermore, in the airbag device M of the second embodiment, the main body inflation portion 85 is configured to include a knee protection portion 95, so that in addition to protecting the upper body MU with the main body inflation portion 85, the knees K can also be protected with the knee protection portion 95 at the same time, eliminating the need to install a separate knee protection device, and enabling a reduction in the number of parts and weight.

[0055] Furthermore, in the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment, when the airbag 75 is fully inflated, the main body inflatable portion 85 is configured to support the upper end 86a side (upper supported portion 93) of the upper body protection portion 86 against the front windshield 5A, and when the airbag 75 is fully inflated and the occupant is received, the main body inflatable portion 85 is configured to support the lower front side (front side of the knee protection portion 95) against the rear surface 70b of the instrument panel 70. Therefore, when the rear side (rear wall portion 91 of the upper body protection portion 86) of the main body inflatable portion 85 is fully inflated and receives the forward moving occupant MP (upper body MU of the occupant MP), the main body inflatable portion 85 itself can be prevented from moving forward due to the reaction force from the rear surface 70b of the instrument panel 70 and the front windshield 5A, and the main body inflatable portion 85 can restrict further forward movement of the occupant MP and accurately restrain the occupant MP. As a result, the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment can also adequately protect the occupant MP, even though the airbag 75 has a front end region formed as the conduit portion 78 when fully inflated. In particular, in the airbag device M2 of the second embodiment, compared to the airbag 20 in the airbag device M1 of the first embodiment, the region supported by the rear surface 70b of the instrument panel 70 (knee protection portion 95) is wider, and a larger contact area with the instrument panel 70 can be secured. This further increases the reaction force received from the instrument panel 70, and the upper body MU can be more stably supported by the upper body protection portion 86.

[0056] 19 and 20, the airbag 20A may be configured to have a protruding inflation portion 130 that protrudes rearward from the rear wall portion 32A near the end (left end in this embodiment) of the main inflation portion 30A that is located on the center side in the vehicle width direction when the main inflation portion 30A is fully inflated. The rear wall portion 32A serves as an occupant protection surface and receives the upper body MU of the occupant MP that moves forward during a frontal collision of the vehicle. Specifically, the protruding inflation portion 130 is located diagonally forward and to the left of the occupant MP seated in the passenger seat when the airbag 20A is fully inflated. The amount of protrusion (front-to-rear width dimension) from the rear wall portion 32A and the vertical width dimension are set to dimensions that can restrain the head of the occupant that moves diagonally forward and to the left during a diagonal collision or an offset collision of the vehicle. When such an airbag 20A is used, in the event of an oblique collision or an offset collision in which an impact force acts from diagonally forward, the head MH of the occupant MP, which moves diagonally forward toward the center (left side) of the vehicle in the width direction of the vehicle, can be restrained by the protruding inflation portion 130, and the occupant MP can be adequately protected not only in a frontal collision but also in an oblique collision or an offset collision.

[0057] In the embodiment, the airbag 20, 20A, 75 is configured so that the lower front side of the main inflation portion 30, 30A, 85 (the lower supported portion 34, the front side of the knee protection portion 95) is supported by the rear surface of the instrument panel 1, 70 when fully inflated, but the airbag is not limited to this configuration. For example, the airbag may be configured so that the lower portion is not in contact with the rear surface of the instrument panel when fully inflated, and is in contact with the instrument panel and supported by the instrument panel when an occupant is received. [Explanation of symbols]

[0058] 1...instrument panel (instrument panel), 2...upper surface portion, 2b...upper surface, 3...rear surface portion, 3a...rear surface, 5, 5A...front windshield, 10...airbag cover, 12...inflator, 16...case (storage portion), 16c...projection opening, 20, 20A...airbag, 23...duct portion, 23a...front end, 23b...rear end, 24...inlet opening, 30, 30A...main body inflation portion, 30a...upper end, 31...front wall portion, 32, 32A...rear wall portion (occupant protection surface), 70...instrument panel, 70b...rear surface, 75...airbag, 78...duct portion, 78a...front end, 78b...rear end, 79...inlet opening, 85...main body inflation portion, 86...upper body protection portion, 86a...upper end, 95...knee protection portion, 130...protruding inflation portion, MP...occupant, MU...upper body, MH...head, K...knee, V1, V2...vehicle, M1, M2...passenger seat airbag device.

Claims

1. The airbag is disposed on the upper surface side of the instrument panel in front of the passenger seat and is configured to include an airbag that can be inflated by flowing inflation gas therein, an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag, and a storage portion that stores the folded airbag and the inflator, When inflation gas discharged from the inflator flows into the airbag and the airbag inflates, the airbag protrudes upward from a protrusion opening formed in the storage portion and expands rearward, The airbag, a conduit portion that is connected to the inflator at a front end thereof when inflation is complete and that extends substantially along the front-rear direction; a main inflation portion configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit portion, and disposed behind the instrument panel when fully inflated, so as to protect an occupant seated in the passenger seat; The device is configured to include: the main inflation portion is configured so that an upper end side thereof is supported by a front windshield disposed above the instrument panel when inflation is complete, and a lower front side thereof is supported by a rear surface of the instrument panel when inflation is complete and an occupant is received therein; a conduit portion configured to be out of contact with the front windshield and to be positioned so as to substantially follow the upper surface of the instrument panel when the airbag is fully inflated.

2. The airbag is disposed on the upper surface side of the instrument panel in front of the passenger seat and is configured to include an airbag that can be inflated by flowing inflation gas therein, an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag, and a storage portion that stores the folded airbag and the inflator, When inflation gas discharged from the inflator flows into the airbag and the airbag inflates, the airbag protrudes upward from a protrusion opening formed in the storage portion and expands rearward, The airbag, a conduit portion that is connected to the inflator at a front end thereof when inflation is complete and that extends substantially along the front-rear direction; a main inflation portion configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit portion, and disposed behind the instrument panel when fully inflated, so as to protect an occupant seated in the passenger seat; The device is configured to include: the main inflation portion is configured so that an upper end side thereof is supported by a front windshield disposed above the instrument panel when inflation is complete, and a lower front side thereof is supported by a rear surface of the instrument panel when inflation is complete and an occupant is received therein; Upper and lower tethers are disposed inside the conduit portion to regulate the thickness of the conduit portion when the airbag is fully inflated, The upper and lower tethers are arranged so as to extend substantially along the longitudinal direction, and are configured so as to have a narrow width at the front end and to expand toward the rear end.

3. The airbag is disposed on the upper surface side of the instrument panel in front of the passenger seat and is configured to include an airbag that can be inflated by flowing inflation gas therein, an inflator that supplies inflation gas to the airbag, and a storage portion that stores the folded airbag and the inflator, When inflation gas discharged from the inflator flows into the airbag and the airbag inflates, the airbag protrudes upward from a protrusion opening formed in the storage portion and expands rearward, The airbag, a conduit portion that is connected to the inflator at a front end thereof when inflation is complete and that extends substantially along the front-rear direction; a main inflation portion configured to bulge out in all directions from the rear end of the conduit portion, and disposed behind the instrument panel when fully inflated, so as to protect an occupant seated in the passenger seat; The device is configured to include: the main inflation portion is configured so that an upper end side thereof is supported by a front windshield disposed above the instrument panel when inflation is complete, and a lower front side thereof is supported by a rear surface of the instrument panel when inflation is complete and an occupant is received therein; Upper and lower tethers are disposed inside the conduit portion to regulate the thickness of the conduit portion when the airbag is fully inflated, The airbag device for a passenger seat is characterized in that the upper and lower tethers are arranged so as to extend substantially along the front-rear direction, and two of them are arranged side by side on the left and right sides.

4. 3. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 2, wherein the conduit portion is not in contact with the front windshield when the airbag is fully inflated.

5. 5. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 4, wherein the conduit portion is configured to be disposed so as to substantially follow the upper surface of the instrument panel when the airbag is fully inflated.

6. 6. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 1, wherein the main inflation portion is configured to include, on a lower side thereof when inflation is complete, a knee protection portion that is positioned in front of the knees of the occupant when inflation is complete.

7. The rear surface side of the main body inflation portion when fully inflated is configured as an occupant protection surface that can receive the occupant moving forward in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, 6. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 1, wherein a protruding inflation portion that protrudes rearward from the occupant protection surface is formed near the end of the main inflation portion that is toward the center of the vehicle width direction when inflation is complete.

8. The rear surface side of the main body inflation portion when fully inflated is configured as an occupant protection surface that can receive the occupant moving forward in the event of a frontal collision of the vehicle, 7. The passenger seat airbag device according to claim 6, wherein a protruding inflation portion is formed in the vicinity of an end portion of the main inflation portion that is on the central side in the vehicle width direction when inflation is complete, the protruding inflation portion inflating so as to protrude rearward from the occupant protection surface.

Images