Side Airbag Layout for Early Occupant Restraint Beside Console Box

The patent introduces a guide structure consisting of guide surfaces and guide grooves as an intermediary mechanism between the airbag and console box. This guide structure controls the deployment path of the airbag, ensuring it maintains proper positioning relative to the console box even during rapid inflation, thereby preventing the airbag from shifting to incorrect positions while preserving fast deployment benefits

The airbag is pre-positioned and guided along a predetermined deployment path defined by the guide surfaces and grooves before actual inflation occurs. This preliminary positioning arrangement ensures that when rapid inflation happens, the airbag expands in the correct direction and maintains proper spatial relationship with the console box, avoiding position shifts that would delay occupant restraint

The airbag system is divided into multiple functional segments: the main bag for occupant restraint, the sub bag for console box interaction, and the guide structure with separate guide surfaces and grooves. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function - the guide structure manages deployment timing and positioning while the bags provide restraint, preventing unwanted pivoting motion that would delay occupant movement restriction

The guide surfaces and guide grooves act as intermediary elements between the abutted sub bag and corner of console box. Instead of direct contact causing pivoting, the guide structure mediates the interaction by providing controlled surfaces that guide the airbag deployment, eliminating the pivoting motion about the corner while maintaining the simplified abutted configuration