1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the side airbag apparatus, which protects the occupant of a vehicle against injury in the event of side collision by inflating the airbag into a vehicle cabin. More specifically, the present invention relates to the side airbag apparatus, which can surely protect the occupant of a vehicle against injury by inflating airbags into a vehicle cabin from a seat of a vehicle.
2. Description of Revelant Art
The airbag apparatus, which deploys the airbag instantly and protects the occupant of a vehicle against injury in the event of collision of a vehicle, has been well known. Among this kind of airbag apparatus, the side airbag apparatus, which deploys the airbag towards the region between the occupant and the door so as to protect an occupant of a vehicle against injury, has been used against the occurrence of the side collision.
As an example of these types of conventional side airbag apparatus, there is provided the side airbag apparatus disclosed in Japanese unexamined patent publications H9-323 607.
In the conventional side airbag apparatus, since the airbag is inflated by high-pressured gas, which is supplied at constant rate, the rate of inflation and the pressure of the airbag cannot be controlled. Thereby, in case of the airbag apparatus equipped with two airbags, if one airbag deploys toward a weak part, such as a flank and the other airbag deploys toward a strong part, such as a leg, of the body, the weak part of the body may be damaged because both airbags are inflated at the same rate of inflation.