Air bag apparatus for passenger seat and bag folding method used therefor

An air bag apparatus for a passenger seat, comprising:

• an air bag cover provided at a top portion of an instrument panel disposed on a passenger seat side of a vehicle, such that said air bag cover is capable of deploying;
• an air bag case disposed below said air bag cover and closed by said air bag cover;
• a bag accommodated in said air bag case in a folded state;
• an inflator disposed in said bag and adapted to inflate said bag toward the passenger seat by ejecting a gas at a time of a collision;
• and
• rectifying means disposed around said inflator and constructed and arranged to direct the gas ejected by said inflator in a direction predominantly toward a rear side of the vehicle, said rectifying means having a rectifying port for rectifying the gas ejected from said inflator, said rectifying port being disposed at a position offset toward a rear side of the vehicle with respect to a top surface portion of said rectifying means,
• wherein said inflator is disposed in a state of being offset toward said air bag cover with respect to a depthwise intermediate portion of said air bag case, said inflator is provided such that the gas ejected from said inflator blows out in a direction toward the rear side of the vehicle, and a portion of said bag is disposed at a side of said inflator which is opposite to a side thereof facing said air bag cover.