Occupant protecting system for vehicle

Abstract

An occupant protecting system for a vehicle includes a triangular shock absorbing member which is accommodated in a folded state within an accommodating casing mounted along a roof rail. The shock absorbing member is held stationarily at its front and rear ends to a vehicle body by fixing pins. A movable pin mounted at a lower end of the shock absorbing member is connected through a wire to a developing or unfolding device mounted to a center pillar. The developing or unfolding device includes a gas generator and a cylinder with a piston slidably received therein and coupled to the wire. When the gas generator is operated upon collision of the vehicle to force the piston in the cylinder downwardly by a high pressure gas generated by the gas generator, the movable pin is pulled down through the wire, so that the shock absorbing member is drawn out of the accommodating casing and developed into a triangular shape. Thus, the membrane-like shock absorbing member, when being accommodated, is compact in size and can easily be mounted in a narrow space in the vehicle body.

Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.