Vehicle seat and airbag structure

A vehicle comprising:

• a vehicle body structure defining a passenger compartment with a floor and a side panel defining rear door opening that is open to the passenger compartment;
• an upright seat frame defining at least one upright seatback section and an outboard bolster section;
• a cushion portion covering at least a portion of each of the upright seatback section and the outboard bolster section of the upright seat frame;
• a cover portion covering the cushion portion along the upright seatback section and the outboard bolster section;
• and
• an airbag assembly including an attachment bracket and an inflatable airbag, the attachment bracket being attached to the outboard bolster section, the attachment bracket defining an attachment section that extends along an inboard surface of the outboard bolster section and a deflection surface extending from the attachment section with the inflatable airbag, the deflection surface being dimensioned and shaped such that upon deployment of the inflatable airbag the inflatable airbag is guided to move by the deflection surface in a forward deployment direction relative to the outboard bolster section and the upright seat frame,
• the seat cushion section being coupled to the floor such that the seat cushion section is adjustably movable to a plurality of positions relative to the floor, with the upright seat frame being attached to the seat cushion section for pivoting movement such that the upright seatback section and the outboard bolster section are movable between at least an upright orientation and an inclined orientation relative to the seat cushion section.

A vehicle seat and airbag structure comprising:

• an upright seat frame defining at least an upright seatback section and an outboard bolster section the upright seat frame corresponding to the upright seatback section defines an overall flat area that extends side to side in a vehicle lateral direction;
• a cushion portion covering at least a portion of each of the upright seatback section and the outboard bolster section of the upright seat frame;
• a cover portion covering the cushion portions along the upright seatback section and the outboard bolster section;
• and
• an airbag assembly including an attachment bracket and an inflatable airbag, the attachment bracket being attached to the outboard bolster section, the attachment bracket defining an attachment section that extends along an inboard surface of the outboard bolster section and a deflection surface extending from the attachment section with the inflatable airbag being attached to an inboard side of the attachment section, the deflection surface being dimensioned and shaped such that upon deployment of the inflatable airbag the inflatable airbag is initially prevented from moving in an outboard direction relative to the outboard bolster section of the upright seat frame by the deflection surface, the attachment section extending away from the upright seat frame in a vehicle forward direction at an angle of between 20° and 40° relative to the overall flat area of the upright seat frame and the deflection surface extends outboard of the airbag assembly and in a vehicle forward direction from a forward end of the attachment section.