A rollover curtain for a vehicle

摘要

A vehicle occupant restraint system includes a restraint curtain 36 stowed adjacent a roof rail 32 of the vehicle 10 to deploy downwardly adjacent the side wall 12 of the vehicle.

The curtain 36 is formed with a slit 42 dividing the curtain into first and second sections 36a and 36b that are tied together by a short, rod-like connecting member 44 which spans the slit 42. A ring 54 encircles the connecting member 44 and a flexible tether 52 is attached to the ring 54. The end of the tether 52 opposite the ring 54 is slidingly engaged with a guide track 46 disposed on a pillar 22 extending downwardly from the vehicle roof 30. The connecting member 44 is therefore free to rotate within the ring 54 so that the curtain 36 may roll and unroll freely without the tether 52 becoming wound up in or otherwise entangled with the curtain 36.

When the curtain 36 is in the stowed condition, the tether 52 is slid to the upper end of the guide track 46. As the curtain 36 unrolls to the deployed condition the tether 52 travels downwardly along the guide track 46 holding the lower edge of the curtain 36 close to the pillar 22.