| 摘要 |
A shock absorbing membrane 1 is accommodated in a folded state within casing 6 mounted on a roof rail 5. Membrane 1 is held stationarily at its front and rear ends to a vehicle body by fixing pins 8, 9. A movable pin 10 mounted at a lower end of the membrane is connected through a wire 26 to a developing or unfolding means 14 mounted to a centre pillar 13. The developing or unfolding means 14 includes a gas generator 18 and a cylinder 22 with a piston slidably received therein and coupled to the wire 26. When the gas generator is operated upon collision of the vehicle to force the piston downwardly, pin 10 is pulled down by wire 26, so that the membrane is drawn out of the casing 6 and developed into a triangular shape. Thus, the membrane requires little storage space and can easily be mounted in a narrow space in the vehicle body. A small air bag may replace the piston and cylinder arrangement (fig. 10), or form part of the membrane (fig. 11). Alternatively, an air bag may be used instead of a membrane (fig. 12). <IMAGE> |
