Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Patent
1997-05-27
1999-05-04
Dickson, Paul N.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
2807431, B60R 2122
Patent
active
058994890
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
The present invention relates to an inflatable safety restraint or airbag for protecting an occupant of an automobile in a crash situation particularly from transverse components of crash forces, such as are produced in side or oblique impacts.
In particular the invention relates to the construction and shape of an inflatable airbag and to an inflator for such an airbag and to means for housing the inflator and the airbag in appropriate positions relative to the automobile occupant and to means for deploying the airbag quickly and for maximum protective effect.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
It has been proposed in known systems to protect vehicle occupants during a side impact collision by introducing an airbag between the occupants torso and an interior surface of the vehicle. U.S. Pat. No. 3,617,073 is illustrative of a system in which an airbag protective system is located within the vehicle door. British Patent 2 232 936 B shows an airbag mounted in a vehicle seat.
With regard to seat mounted airbag systems it is desirable for the airbag and its associated mounting hardware to be constructed in a way that it is compatible with seat design and does not interfere with occupant comfort. All known airbag technologies mount the airbag in a rigid cover. This type of construction if placed behind the soft, compliant foam padding (or seat cover) of the seat reduces the resiliency of the padding lessening occupant comfort.
Inflators for airbags are necessarily bulky and heavy items since they contain compressed gas for inflation which must be safely contained. Traditionally an inflator comprises a cylindrical steel container which is mounted in a metal housing into which the airbag is folded. The resultant package which must be fitted into an automobile is bulky and unsightly and problems have been encountered in mounting such packages in the optimum positions within an automobile for safety purposes while satisfactorily disguising them to the satisfaction of interior designers, particularly in arrangements for protection against side impact forces.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
Accordingly the present invention provides an inflatable safety restraint arrangement for protection of a vehicle occupant from transverse components of crash forces, the arrangement comprising an inflatable cushion which in the deflated state is folded and mounted in a flexible pocket, the cushion being fixedly attached to the vehicle at at least two spaced positions, the flexible pocket comprising a line of weakness alone which the pocket opens when subjected to forces generated during inflation of the cushion and through which line of weakness the inflating cushion deploys, the pocket being mounted in the vehicle such that the cushion deploys to a position between the vehicle occupant and an adjacent vehicle surface in the event of a crash situation being detected.
The flexible pocket is preferably of fabric material, eg a woven medium, and the line of weakness comprises a stitched seam which may be adapted to open by tearing along the stitching on deployment of the cushion or alternatively by unravelling the stitching.
Alternatively a flexible plastics material may be used for the pocket and for example formed by folding a single piece of plastics material and securing that open edge (through which the airbag cushion is to be deployed) by glue, crimping or rivets such as plastic so-called "Christmas Tree" fasteners, to form the line of weakness through which the cushion will deploy.
According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention the flexible pocket is mounted in a vehicle seat, preferably within a cover of the seat in such a way as to follow the contours of the seat. Preferably one of the attachment positions of the cushion to the vehicle is in line with or above the shoulder of the vehicle occupant.
The line of weakness may advantageously be aligned with a seam of the seat cover, or with an otherwise relatively weaker part of the cover, so that the inflating cushion deploys through the line of weakness and thus through
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patent: 3617073 (1971-11-01), Landsman et al.
patent: 5308112 (1994-05-01), Hill et al.
patent: 5322322 (1994-06-01), Bark et al.
patent: 5498030 (1996-03-01), Hill et al.
patent: 5556128 (1996-09-01), Sinnhuber et al.
patent: 5588672 (1996-12-01), Karlow et al.
patent: 5630616 (1997-05-01), McPherson
Breed Automotive Technology Inc.
Dickson Paul N.
Seitzman Markell
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