JP7586110B2 - Occupant protection devices - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an occupant protection device that is configured to protect an occupant seated in a seat.

Conventionally, occupant protection devices have been configured to place an inflator that supplies inflation gas to an airbag that is folded and stored around the occupant's waist in the area on the lower rear side of the backrest of the seat on which the occupant is seated (specifically, in a position below the rear end of the seat) (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

JP2020-66425A

However, in conventional occupant protection devices, the inflator is attached to the seat in an exposed state. Therefore, when the inflator is installed on the front seat of a vehicle with seats arranged side by side at the front and rear, when an impact force acts on the vehicle from the front, the occupant sitting in the front seat is protected by being restricted from moving forward by the inflated airbag. However, there are cases where the inflator comes into contact with the legs of a rear occupant sitting in the rear seat arranged behind the front seat, and there is room for improvement in terms of restricting such contact between the inflator and the rear occupant.

The present invention aims to solve the above-mentioned problems by providing an occupant protection device that can prevent contact between a rear occupant seated in a rear seat disposed behind the installed front seat and an inflator.

The occupant protection device according to the present invention is configured to be mounted on a front seat in a vehicle having seats arranged side by side at the front and rear, and to protect an occupant seated in the front seat,
an airbag configured to be inflatable in a bag shape so as to cover the front of an occupant and to be held in a folded state by a holding belt part that is wrapped around the waist of the occupant;
an inflator having a generally cylindrical shape, disposed in a region on a lower rear surface of a seat back of the front seat with an axial direction generally aligned with a left-right direction, and connected to the airbag so as to be able to supply inflation gas to the airbag;
An occupant protection device comprising:
The inflator is characterized in that at least the rear side is covered by a cover to prevent interference with the legs of a rear passenger seated in a rear seat disposed behind the front seat.

In the occupant protection device of the present invention, the inflator disposed in the area of the lower rear surface of the backrest of the front seat is covered at least on the rear side by a cover. Therefore, even if an impact force acts on the vehicle from the front with an occupant (rear occupant) seated in the rear seat located behind the front seat, the inflator can be prevented from coming into direct contact with the legs of the rear occupant.

Therefore, the passenger protection device of the present invention can prevent contact between the inflator and a rear passenger seated in the rear seat disposed behind the installed front seat.

In addition, in the passenger protection device having the above configuration, if the cover is configured to be attached to the inflator, there is no need for mounting means or work for attaching the cover to the mounting bracket, making the configuration simpler and reducing manufacturing steps and costs, which is preferable.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device configured as described above, if the cover is configured to cover the underside of the inflator as well, the area on the underside of the inflator can also be prevented from coming into contact with the legs of the rear passenger, which is preferable as it makes it possible to more accurately prevent contact between the legs of the rear passenger and the inflator.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device configured as described above, if the cover is configured to cover the rear side of the mounting bracket for attaching the inflator to the seat, this is preferable because it can prevent the legs of the rear passenger from coming into contact with the mounting bracket.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device having the above configuration, the cover is
a substantially plate-shaped cover body that covers at least the rear of the inflator;
a deformation portion that is disposed between the cover body and the inflator and that is plastically deformable while maintaining the shape of the cover body that covers the rear of the inflator when an impact force is applied to the cover body;
It is preferable to have a configuration including the following:

With such a configuration of the passenger protection device, when the legs of a rear passenger come into contact with the cover body, the impact force generated by this contact can be absorbed by plastically deforming the deformable portion disposed between the cover body and the inflator. Furthermore, since the shape of the cover body is maintained during the plastic deformation of the deformable portion, the legs can be accurately received by the cover body. Furthermore, with the passenger protection device configured as described above, even if the legs of the rear passenger come into contact with the cover body and then advance toward the inflator, the plastic deformation of the deformable portion disposed between the cover body and the inflator absorbs the energy, preventing the legs from being damaged by the inflator.

When the occupant protection device is configured in this way, it is preferable to configure the cover to be attached to the inflator using the intended deformation portion.

1 is a perspective view of a seat equipped with an occupant protection device according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a side view of the seat of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a front view of the seat of FIG. 1 with the seat belt fastened; FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged rear view showing the lower end side area of the seat portion of the seat in FIG. 1 before the inflator is attached; 2 is a partially enlarged rear view showing the lower end side area of the seat portion of the seat of FIG. 1 . FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of an inflator arrangement in the occupant protection device according to the embodiment; FIG. 7 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of an inflator in the occupant protection device of the embodiment, and corresponds to the VII-VII portion of FIG. 6. 8 is a partially enlarged vertical cross-sectional view showing the vicinity of an inflator in the occupant protection device according to the embodiment, and corresponds to the VIII-VIII portion in FIG. 6. 2 is a schematic perspective view of a cover attached to an inflator in the occupant protection device according to the embodiment; FIG. 1 is a schematic perspective view showing a state in which an airbag used in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment is inflated by itself; FIG. 11 is a schematic vertical cross-sectional view of the airbag of FIG. 10 . 1 is a front view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in an occupant protection device according to an embodiment; 1 is a side view of a seat in a state where an airbag has completed inflation in the occupant protection device according to an embodiment;

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. An occupant protection device S of the embodiment is mounted on a seat 1 of a vehicle as shown in Figs. 1 to 3. Although detailed illustration is omitted, the vehicle is configured to have seats arranged side by side at the front and rear, and the occupant protection device S of the embodiment is mounted on the seat 1, which is the passenger seat (front seat) located at the front. The occupant protection device S is configured to include a seat belt 7 constituting a retaining belt portion that retains the airbag 50, the airbag 50, an inflator 20 that supplies inflation gas to the airbag 50, a connecting pipe 30 that connects the airbag 50 and the inflator 20, and a cover 35 that covers the rear side of the inflator 20.

The seat 1 comprises a backrest 2 and a seat portion 3. The seat 1 is attached to the vehicle body so as to be slidable back and forth relative to the vehicle floor (floor panel 4) by lower arms 5 (see Figs. 3 and 4) extending downward from both the left and right ends of the seat portion 3 and by slide rails (not shown). In detail, the seat 1 is configured so that the left and right sides of the lower area of the seat portion 3 are covered with covers (not shown) with almost no gaps, but the seat 1 is attached to the body so that there is a gap between the rear side of the seat portion 3 and the floor panel 4 (see Figs. 2, 4 and 5). A mounting bracket 6 for mounting an inflator 20 is disposed on the rear end 3a of the seat portion 3 of the seat 1 so as to extend downward. The mounting bracket 6 is attached to the lower arm 5 at a predetermined location (not shown), and is disposed in the left half of the seat 3, where the inflator 20 is disposed, as a long plate that extends approximately vertically and is wide from side to side (see Figs. 4, 7, and 8). The mounting bracket 6 has mounting holes 6a formed at two locations separated on the left and right sides (axial sides of the inflator 20) through which the bolts 24b of the inflator mounting bracket 24 can be inserted and fastened to the nuts 6b fixed to the periphery (see Figs. 4 and 6).

In the embodiment, the seat belt 7 is mounted on the seat 1 and includes a belt body 8 for protecting the occupant MP seated on the seat 1, a tongue plate 12 attached to the belt body 8, and a buckle 13 for connecting the tongue plate 12. One end of the belt body 8 is fastened to a winding shaft of a retractor (not shown) disposed in the backrest 2, and the other end is fastened to an anchor member 14 (see Figs. 1 and 2) disposed to the left of the rear end 3a of the seat part 3 of the seat 1. In detail, the belt body 8 is disposed so as to be exposed to the outside from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2. In the embodiment, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 as a retaining belt portion that retains the airbag 50 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 as shown in Figs. 1 and 2. In detail, when the occupant MP is not seated, the lap belt 10 is exposed to the front surface of the backrest 2 at the left edge 2a side of the backrest 2 so as to extend substantially along the up-down direction, as shown in Fig. 1. The belt main body 8 has the lap belt 10 and a shoulder belt 9 stored in the backrest 2, and when the occupant MP is seated, with the tongue plate 12 connected to the buckle 13, the lap belt 10 arranged substantially along the left-right direction between the anchor member 14 and the buckle 13 restrains the lower body MD (lumbar region MW) of the occupant MP, and the shoulder belt 9 extending from the upper left edge side of the backrest 2 and arranged diagonally to the buckle 13 restrains the upper body MU (from the shoulders MS to the chest MB) of the occupant MP (see Fig. 3). In this embodiment, when an occupant is seated, the lap belt 10, which is placed in front of the waist MW of the occupant MP seated in the seat 1, and the cover 65, which will be described later, form a retaining belt portion that stores and retains the folded airbag 25. In the seat belt 7, a retractor (not shown) that is placed in the backrest portion 2 has a pretensioner mechanism.

The inflator 20 is disposed in the area on the lower rear side of the backrest 2 of the seat 1, and in the embodiment, is disposed at a position on the lower side of the rear end 3a of the seat 3 of the seat 1. The inflator 20 has an approximately cylindrical outer shape and is disposed with its axial direction approximately aligned with the left-right direction, and is attached to the mounting bracket 6 extending from the lower arm 5 using a bracket 24 disposed on the outer periphery. The inflator 20 is configured to have a gas discharge section 21 capable of discharging inflation gas at one end side in the axial direction (left end 20a side in the embodiment), and is disposed in an area of about the left half of the lower side of the seat 3 so that the left end 20a side where the gas discharge section 21 is disposed is approximately aligned with the left end 3b side of the seat 3 of the seat 1 (see FIG. 5). A connector 22 to which a lead wire 22a is connected is connected to the other end side (right end 20b side) of the inflator 20 in the axial direction. The bracket 24 for mounting the inflator 20 to the mounting bracket 6 is configured to have a substantially annular outer shape, a retaining ring portion 24a capable of holding the inflator 20, and a bolt 24b protruding from the retaining ring portion 24a. The retaining ring portion 24a is configured to hold the inflator 20 by crimping it to reduce its diameter. The bracket 24 is disposed at two locations apart along the axial direction of the inflator 20, and the inflator 20 is mounted to the mounting bracket 6 by holding the inflator 20 with the retaining ring portion 24a and inserting the bolt 24b protruding from the retaining ring portion 24a into the mounting hole 6a formed in the mounting bracket 6 and fastening it with a nut 6b (see FIG. 6). In the embodiment, the inflator 20 is configured to start operating later than the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7 in order to regulate the pulling out of the belt body 8 of the seat belt 7 due to the inflation of the airbag 50.

The connecting pipe 30 that connects the airbag 50 and the inflator 20 extends from the left end 20a of the inflator 20 so as to cover the gas discharge portion 21 of the inflator 20, and is bent so that the tip 30a is positioned to the left of the seat portion 3 of the seat 1 (see Figures 2 and 5). The tip 30a is connected to the conduit portion 60 of the airbag 50, which will be described later, using a clamp 31 (see Figures 2 and 5).

The cover 35 that covers the rear of the inflator 20 is arranged to cover the rear of the inflator 20 to prevent interference with the legs RF of a rear passenger RP seated in a rear seat (not shown) arranged behind the seat 1, and is made of synthetic resin in this embodiment. Specifically, the cover 35 is made of soft synthetic resin such as polyolefin thermoplastic elastomer (TPO). As shown in Figures 5 to 9, the cover 35 includes a cover main body 36 and a deformation portion 42 (energy absorbing deformation portion) that is arranged between the cover main body 36 and the inflator 20.

In the embodiment, the cover body 36 is configured to cover the inflator 20 from the rear to the bottom, and also to cover the right side of the inflator 20. In detail, the cover body 36 is configured to include a rear wall portion 37 that covers the rear of the inflator 20, a lower wall portion 38 that extends forward from the lower end side of the rear wall portion 37, and a right wall portion 39 that extends forward from the right end side of the rear wall portion 37. The rear wall portion 37 has an outer shape that is a generally rectangular plate that is wide from left to right, and is set to a size that can cover the rear side of the inflator 20 over almost the entire surface, including the base portion 30b side of the connection pipe 30 arranged on the left end 20a side (see Figures 5 and 6). The rear wall portion 37 is configured to extend vertically beyond the inflator 20 and to cover the rear of the inflator 20 widely, not only directly behind, but also vertically. The lower wall portion 38 is disposed so as to extend forward from the lower end of the rear wall portion 37 so as to enter the gap between the inflator 20 and the floor panel 4 disposed below the inflator 20, and is configured so as to cover the area below and behind the inflator 20 and the mounting bracket 6 with its tip 38a positioned near the lower end of the mounting bracket 6 (see Figures 7 and 8). The right wall portion 39 is formed so as to extend forward from the right end of the rear wall portion 37 so as to be able to cover the right side of the inflator 20 (see Figure 6).

The deformation portion 42 has an attachment portion 43 that is disposed in front of the rear wall portion 37 and curved in a substantially arcuate cross section so as to partially cover the outer periphery of the inflator 20, and a connecting wall portion 44 that is disposed substantially along the front-to-rear direction so as to connect the attachment portion 43 and the rear wall portion 37. The connecting wall portion 44 is formed in two locations that are spaced apart vertically, as shown in Fig. 7. The attachment portion 43 has a substantially C-shaped cross section so that the front end side is open, and by inserting the inflator 20 from the front side, it is held on the outer periphery of the inflator 20, making it possible to attach the cover 35 to the inflator 20. In this deformation portion 42, when an impact force T acts on the rear wall portion 37 (cover body 36) (when the leg portion RF comes into contact), as shown by the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7, the shape of the cover body 36 (specifically, the rear wall portion 37) covering the rear of the inflator 20 is maintained while the two connecting walls 44, 44 connecting the rear wall portion 37 and the mounting portion 43 are bent plastically to absorb the impact force. This deformation portion 42 is configured to be separated on the axial side of the inflator 20 and arranged at multiple locations along the axial direction, and in this embodiment, it is arranged at three locations so as to be offset from the bracket 24 on the axial side (see FIGS. 6 and 9).

The airbag 50 is folded into a long shape and covered with a cover 65 while being held by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 as a holding belt portion. Specifically, the airbag 50 is placed in the area of the lap belt 10, covered with the cover 65, and overlapped on the upper surface side of the lap belt 10 when the seat belt 7 is worn (see FIG. 3). In other words, the airbag 50 is folded and stored in the gap between the lap belt 10 and the cover 65. In addition, in the unworn state as shown in FIG. 1, the airbag 50 is placed on the back side (backrest 2 side) of the lap belt 10 exposed on the front surface of the backrest 2. The cover 65 is made of a flexible sheet body and is configured to be broken at a predetermined location when the airbag 50 is deployed and inflated, so that the bag body 51 of the airbag 50, which will be described later, can be protruded.

As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the airbag 50 includes a bag body 51 that inflates to protect the occupant MP, a conduit 60 that is connected to the inflator 20 and directs inflation gas into the bag body 51, and an attachment 62 for holding the bag body 51 to the lap belt 10.

The bag body 51 is configured so that the outer shape when fully inflated is a substantially triangular prism with the axial direction substantially aligned with the left-right direction, and the fully inflated shape when viewed from the left and right sides is a substantially right-angled triangle with a hypotenuse on the front side, and the fully inflated shape when viewed from the front-rear direction is a substantially rectangular shape with a wide top and bottom (see Figures 12 and 13). As shown in Figures 10 and 11, the bag body 51 has a rear wall portion 53 that is disposed on the occupant MP side (rear side) when fully inflated, a front wall portion 52 that is disposed opposite the rear wall portion 53 in the front-rear direction, a lower wall portion 54 that is disposed on the lower end side when fully inflated, and a left wall portion 55 and a right wall portion 56 that are disposed opposite each other in the left-right direction when fully inflated. When the bag body 51 is fully inflated, the rear wall 53 receives the upper body MU, and the lower wall 38 abuts against the thighs MT of the occupant MP, thereby receiving the occupant MP (see FIG. 13). The bag body 51 is configured such that a conduit 60 is disposed on the underside of the rear end 54a of the lower wall 54, and inflation gas from the inflator 20 flows into the bag through the conduit 60. In the area of the rear end 54a of the lower wall 54, a circular communication hole 58 that communicates with the conduit 60 is opened, and in this embodiment, two are provided side by side on the left and right sides. The bag body 51 is connected to the conduit 60 at the periphery of the communication hole 58.

The conduit 60 extends leftward from the bag body 51, has an approximately cylindrical shape with an open tip 60a, and is connected to the connecting pipe 30 extending from the inflator 20. The conduit 60 is arranged in the left-right direction so as to be approximately aligned with the lap belt 10 when the airbag 50 is fully inflated (see Figs. 12 and 13). The conduit 60 is connected at its tip 60a to the connecting pipe 30 extending from the inflator 20 using the clamp 31 as described above. The attachment 62 for attaching the bag body 51 to the lap belt 10 is sewn to the underside of the conduit 60, as shown in Figs. 10 and 11. The attachment 62 is approximately cylindrical with both ends open so that the lap belt 10 can be inserted. The airbag 50 is connected to the lap belt 10 and held by the lap belt 10 by inserting the lap belt 10 through the attachment 62.

In the embodiment of the passenger protection device S, when the inflator 20 is activated while the passenger MP is seated in the seat 1 mounted in the vehicle with the seat belt 7 fastened, the inflation gas discharged from the inflator 20 flows into the bag body 51 via the connecting pipe 30 and the conduit portion 60, and the bag body 51 of the airbag 50 breaks the cover 65 and protrudes forward and upward from the lap belt 10 as the retaining belt portion, completing the inflation as shown in Figures 12 and 13.

In the occupant protection device S of the embodiment, the inflator 20 disposed in the area on the lower rear surface of the backrest 2 of the seat 1 (specifically, the lower side of the rear end 3a of the seat portion 3) is configured to be covered at least on the rear side by the cover 35. Therefore, even if an impact force acts on the vehicle from the front with an occupant (rear occupant RP) seated in a rear seat (not shown) located behind the seat 1, the inflator 20 can be appropriately prevented from coming into direct contact with the legs RF of the rear occupant RP.

Therefore, the passenger protection device S of this embodiment can prevent contact between the rear passenger RP seated in the rear seat disposed behind the seat 1 on which the device is installed and the inflator 20.

In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the cover 35 is configured to be attached to the inflator 20, so that there is no need for mounting means or work for mounting the cover to the mounting bracket, allowing for a simple configuration and reducing manufacturing man-hours and costs. In particular, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the mounting portion 43 for mounting the cover 35 to the inflator 20 has a substantially C-shaped cross section and is configured to elastically deform and fit into the outer periphery of the inflator 20. Therefore, simply by moving the cover 35 forward from the rear side of the inflator 20 attached to the mounting bracket 6, the mounting portion 43 can be attached to the inflator 20, and the mounting work of the cover 35 to the inflator 20 is also easy.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the cover 35 is configured to be able to cover the underside of the inflator 20 as well, so that even if the leg RF (toes) of the rear passenger RP attempts to enter between the inflator 20 and the vehicle floor panel 4, the area on the underside of the inflator 20 can be prevented from coming into contact with the leg RF of the rear passenger RP. This makes it possible to more accurately prevent contact between the leg RF of the rear passenger RP and the inflator. In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the cover body 36 also has a right wall portion 39 that covers the right side of the inflator 20, so that the leg RF (toes) of the rear passenger RP can also be accurately prevented from coming into contact with the area near the connector 22 of the inflator 20.

Furthermore, in the embodiment of the occupant protection device S, the cover 35 is configured to cover the rear side of the mounting bracket 6 for mounting the inflator 20 to the seat 1, so that the leg RF of the rear occupant RP can be prevented from coming into contact with the mounting bracket 6.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the cover 35 includes a cover body 36 and a deformation-predetermined portion 42 that is disposed between the cover body 36 and the inflator 20 and is plastically deformable when an impact force acts on the cover body 36. The deformation-predetermined portion 42 is configured to be plastically deformable (buckling plastic deformation) while maintaining the shape of the cover body 36 that covers the rear of the inflator 20. Therefore, when the leg RF of the rear passenger RP comes into contact with the cover body 36, the impact force T generated by this contact can be absorbed by plastically deforming the deformation-predetermined portion 42 (more specifically, the connecting wall portions 44, 44 in the deformation-predetermined portion 42) disposed between the cover body 36 and the inflator 20 (see the two-dot chain line in FIG. 7). Furthermore, since the shape of the cover body 36 is maintained during the plastic deformation of the deformation-predetermined portion 42, the cover body 36 can accurately receive the leg RF. In addition, in the passenger protection device S of this embodiment, even if the leg RF of the rear passenger RP comes into contact with the cover body 36 and then advances toward the inflator 20, the plastic deformation of the deformation-prepared portion 42 disposed between the cover body 36 and the inflator 20 absorbs the energy, preventing the leg RF from being damaged by the inflator 20.

Furthermore, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the cover 35 is configured to be attached to the inflator 20 by utilizing the deformation portion 42. Specifically, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the deformation portion 42 is configured to have an attachment portion 43 attached to the inflator 20, and two connecting wall portions 44, 44 arranged approximately along the front-rear direction so as to connect the attachment portion 43 and the rear wall portion 37 of the cover body 36, and is configured to absorb energy by plastically deforming the connecting wall portions 44, 44. That is, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the inflator 20 is attached at the attachment portion 43 located at the front end side of the deformation portion 42, and the portion of the deformation portion 42 between the inflator 20 and the cover body 36 (connecting wall portion 44) is bent and plastically deformed, so that energy is absorbed while the attachment state to the inflator 20 by the attachment portion 43 is maintained. Therefore, when an impact force acts on the cover body 36, the deformation portion 42 can be reliably plastically deformed in the region between the inflator 20 and the cover body 36 (connecting wall portion 44). If such a point is not taken into consideration, the cover portion may be configured to have an attachment portion that is attached to the inflator, separate from the deformation portion (energy absorbing deformation portion).

In the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7 is used as the retaining belt portion that retains the airbag 50, but the retaining belt portion that retains the airbag is not limited to the lap belt. For example, a belt separate from the seat belt may be placed in front of the waist of the passenger seated in the seat and the airbag may be retained by this belt. In addition, in the passenger protection device S of the embodiment, although the airbag 50 is retained by the lap belt 10 of the seat belt 7, the inflator 20 operates with a delay from the operation of the pretensioner mechanism of the seat belt 7, so that the airbag 50 can be inflated while the seat belt 7 keeps the passenger MP stably seated on the seat 1, and the airbag 50 and the seat belt can stably protect the passenger MP.

In addition, in the passenger protection device S of this embodiment, the seat belt 7 and the inflator 20 are configured to be mounted on the seat 1. Therefore, even when the seat 1 is used in a state where it is moved relative to the vehicle by being slid significantly back and forth or rotated, the passenger MP seated in the seat 1 can be adequately protected by the airbag 50.

1...seat (front seat), 2...backrest, 3...seat portion, 6...mounting bracket, 7...seat belt, 20...inflator, 24...bracket, 35...cover, 36...cover body, 37...rear wall portion, 38...lower wall portion, 42...deformable portion, 43...mounting portion, 44...connecting wall portion, 50...airbag, MP...occupant, RP...rear occupant, RF...leg portion, S...occupant protection device.

Claims (6)

In a vehicle having seats arranged side by side at the front and rear, the seat cushion is mounted on the front seat and configured to protect an occupant seated in the front seat,
an airbag having an inflatable bag shape so as to cover the front of the occupant and being held in a folded state by a holding belt part that is wrapped around the waist of the occupant;
an inflator having a generally cylindrical shape, disposed in a region on a lower rear surface of a seat back of the front seat with an axial direction generally aligned with a left-right direction, and connected to the airbag so as to be able to supply inflation gas to the airbag;
An occupant protection device comprising:
An occupant protection device characterized in that at least the rear side of the inflator is covered by a cover to prevent interference with the legs of a rear occupant seated in a rear seat disposed behind the front seat. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the cover is configured to be attached to the inflator. The passenger protection device according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that the cover is configured to be able to cover the underside of the inflator as well. The passenger protection device according to claim 3, characterized in that the cover is configured to be able to cover the rear side of the mounting bracket for mounting the inflator to the seat. The cover is
a substantially plate-shaped cover body that covers at least the rear of the inflator;
a deformation portion that is disposed between the cover body and the inflator and that is plastically deformable while maintaining the shape of the cover body that covers the rear of the inflator when an impact force is applied to the cover body;
5. The passenger protection device according to claim 1, further comprising: The passenger protection device according to claim 5, characterized in that the cover is configured to be attached to the inflator by utilizing the deformation portion.

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