CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority from and the benefit of Korean Patent Application No 10-2019-0175853, filed Dec. 27, 2019, the entire contents of which is incorporated herein for all purposes by this reference.

BACKGROUND

Field

Exemplary embodiments relate generally to a roof curtain airbag for a vehicle, the roof curtain airbag being configured to protect passengers seated on respective seats when a traffic collision occurs in a situation in which a plurality of seats are arranged to face each other.

Discussion of the Background

In general, safety devices are installed in vehicles to secure the safety of a passenger from accidents such as collisions and rollovers. The safety devices include seat belts for restraining the body of the passenger and airbags for mitigating impact of the passenger when the passengers collide in a vehicle. Airbags are variously installed in each portion of the vehicle as needed, such as a driver's seat airbag installed in a steering wheel, a passenger seat airbag installed in an instrument panel of a passenger seat, etc.

Meanwhile, a vehicle is divided into a front space occupied by a front seat passenger and a rear space occupied by a rear seat passenger. When a traffic collision occurs, there is a problem that the rear seat passenger is moved forward by inertia, thereby causing a collision between passengers inside the vehicle.

In particular, in the case of an autonomous vehicle that has become more widespread, a position of a seat is configured to be variously adjusted in a 360-degree direction. Accordingly, the front seat passenger and the rear seat passenger are positioned to face each other, and passenger injury may occur due to collisions between the passengers when a traffic collision occurs in a situation in which the front seat passenger and the rear seat passenger face each other.

The foregoing is intended merely to aid in the understanding of the background of the present invention, and is not intended to mean that the present invention falls within the purview of the related art that is already known to those skilled in the art.

SUMMARY

Exemplary embodiments of the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the related art, and the present invention is intended to propose a roof curtain airbag for a vehicle, wherein the roof curtain airbag is configured to prevent a collision between passengers in a situation in which seats are arranged to face each other, and to protect and restrain the passengers from impact.

In order to achieve the above objective, according to one aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roof curtain airbag for a vehicle. In the roof curtain airbag for a vehicle having an airbag cushion that may be configured to be expanded downward from a vehicle roof and to be arranged in a space between a plurality of seats, the airbag cushion may be configured to have an expansion shape in which a length of a lower portion of the airbag cushion is extended longer than that of an upper portion thereof, such that the upper portion may be extended in a facing direction of each seat and a length of the airbag cushion in the facing direction of each seat gradually may increase as the airbag cushion goes downward from the upper portion, so that a first end of the airbag cushion and a second end thereof may be extended to be inclined, and the airbag cushion having a through hole portion that may be open in a width direction of the airbag cushion at a center portion thereof.

The airbag cushion may be fixed to the vehicle roof by a plurality of brackets that may be spaced apart from each other in the vehicle roof in the facing direction of each seat.

As a length of the airbag cushion in the width direction thereof gradually increases downward from the upper portion thereof, a length in the width direction of the lower portion thereof may be configured longer than a length in the width direction of the upper portion thereof.

The airbag cushion may be configured such that the first end thereof and the second end thereof may be respectively extended downward to form extension portions.

The through hole of the airbag cushion may be extended in the facing direction of each seat, and opposite ends of the through hole portion may be extended to form upward bent shapes.

The airbag cushion may have a diffuser. The diffuser may be supplied with gas from an inflator, and have a first side bent portion extended toward the first end of the airbag cushion and a second side bent portion extended toward the second end thereof, so that the inflation gas may be dispersed toward the first end and the second end of the airbag cushion.

The diffuser may have a central bent portion, which may be extended downward and passes through the center portion of the airbag cushion, and then pass across the through hole portion to communicate with the lower portion of the airbag cushion.

The airbag cushion may include a first tether in which a first end thereof may be connected to the vehicle roof and a second end thereof may be connected to a first end-side lower portion of the airbag cushion; and a second tether in which a first end thereof may be connected to the vehicle roof and a second end thereof may be connected to a second end-side lower portion of the airbag cushion, and lengths of the first tether and the second tether may be configured shorter than a height between the upper portion and the lower portion of the airbag cushion when expansion of the airbag cushion is completed.

The roof curtain airbag may include a tether cutter in the vehicle roof. The tether cutter may be connected to the first and second tether, and configured to selectively cut the first and second tethers.

The roof curtain airbag may include a controller, which may be configured to receive information with respect to the plurality of seats, to control the tether cutter, and to control the tether cutter to cut the first and second tethers when a first seat and a second seat of the plurality of seats are positioned to face each other.

When the first seat of the plurality of seats may be positioned to be deviated from an expanded position of the airbag cushion and the second seat may be positioned within the expanded position thereof, the controller may control the tether cutter to cut the second tether, not the first tether.

When the first seat and the second seat may be positioned to be deviated from the expanded position of the airbag cushion, the controller may control the tether cutter not to cut the first tether and the second tether.

In the roof curtain airbag for a vehicle, which is configured to have the structure described above, the airbag cushion is expanded to a space between the passengers seated on respective seats when the plurality of seats are arranged to face each other, so that a collision between the passengers is prevented and the passengers are protected from impact by the airbag cushion.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide further explanation of the invention as claimed.

