Airbag engaging pivotable trim panel
AssigneeNissan North America, Inc.
InventorJeffrey SITKO
Life of this patent
Estimating the term…
Abstract
A vehicle body structure includes a roof structure, a pillar structure extending below the roof structure, and an airbag mounted to and extending along the roof structure. The airbag is deployable from a stowed orientation to a deployed orientation. A trim panel is mounted to and extends along the pillar structure. The trim panel is disposed beneath the airbag when the airbag is in the stowed orientation, and the airbag overlays the trim panel when the airbag is in the deployed orientation. A trim deployment structure is connected to the pillar structure and is configured to pivot a trim panel about a pivot structure after deployment of the airbag to the deployed orientation such that the trim panel engages the deployed airbag to move the deployed airbag in an inboard direction.
Claims20
A vehicle body structure, comprising:
- a roof structure;
- a pillar structure extending below the roof structure;
- an airbag mounted to and extending along the roof structure, the airbag being deployable from a stowed orientation to a deployed orientation;
- a trim panel mounted to and extending along the pillar structure, the trim panel being disposed beneath the airbag when the airbag is in the stowed orientation, and the airbag overlaying the trim panel when the airbag is in the deployed orientation;
- a pivot structure;
- and
- a trim deployment structure connected to the pillar structure, the trim deployment structure being configured to pivot the trim panel about the pivot structure after deployment of the airbag to the deployed orientation such that the trim panel engages the deployed airbag to move the deployed airbag in an inboard direction.
A vehicle body structure, comprising:
- a roof structure;
- a pillar structure extending below the roof structure;
- an airbag mounted to and extending along the roof structure, the airbag being deployable from a stowed orientation to a deployed orientation;
- a trim panel mounted to and extending along the pillar structure, the trim panel being disposed beneath the airbag when the airbag is in the stowed orientation, and the airbag overlaying the trim panel when the airbag is in the deployed orientation;
- a pivot structure pivotally securing the trim panel to the pillar structure, the pivot structure being positioned between an upper portion of the trim panel and a lower portion of the trim panel;
- and
- a trim deployment structure connected to the pillar structure and disposed below the pivot structure, the trim deployment structure being configured to pivot the trim panel about the pivot structure after deployment of the airbag to the deployed orientation such that the bottom portion of the trim panel moves in an inboard direction and engages the deployed airbag to move the deployed airbag in the inboard direction.
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Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.