Side Airbag Apparatus for a Vehicle

A side airbag apparatus for a vehicle having a side airbag attached to a side of a backrest part of a vehicle seat, the apparatus comprising:

• separation element defining a front airbag chamber and a rear airbag chamber within the side airbag,
• a connecting passage between a lower extremity of the separation element and a trailing edge of the airbag, the connecting passage connecting the front and rear airbag chambers adjacent the lower extremity of the separation element,
• an attaching portion provided on an upper rear portion of the rear airbag chamber and attaching the side airbag to the backrest part, and
• an inflator proximate the attaching portion for injecting a gas into the rear airbag chamber which flows through the connecting passage into the front airbag chamber,
• wherein the separation element is an inner bag that defines at least one of the front and rear airbag chambers, the inner bag defining a connecting port that forms the connecting passage, wherein the inflator is located at a position corresponding only to an upper half part of the rear airbag chamber and at a rear part of the upper half part of the rear airbag chamber, and the separation element extends downward along a path inclined toward a front of the vehicle from a top extremity of the side airbag, proximate the inflator, to the connecting passage located at a lower part of the side airbag, proximate a seat cushion, and
• wherein an inlet of the connecting passage is formed to face forward and downward so that the gas flows downward at an inclined angle toward a front of the seat cushion, through the connecting passage into the front airbag chamber, and toward a rear side of the vehicle seat into an area adjacent to the rear airbag chamber and located above a lowermost part of the inflator.