Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2002-12-30
2004-11-23
Ilan, Ruth (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C074S552000, C280S736000, C280S728200
Reexamination Certificate
active
06820894
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an air bag module for a vehicle, and more particularly to a structure for installing an air bag module on a steering wheel for a vehicle capable of maximizing space utilization of an interior of the steering wheel, improving operation performance of the air bag module by minimizing interference between parts constituting the air bag module.
2. Description of the Related Art
Generally, an air bag apparatus, which is an apparatus for protecting a passenger upon collision of a vehicle, protects safety of a driver and a passenger, working together with a seat belt.
Such air bag apparatus works in the following manner, in which: when a sensor and an ECU (Electronic Controlling Unit) detect impulse, an inflator is operated instantly. Then a compressed gas is discharged and the air bag is expanded, so that impulse with respect to a face and a chest of a driver, is possibly relieved.
Among such air bag apparatus, particularly a driver air bag is generally mounted on a central part of the steering wheel, so that a danger that a face or a chest of a driver is knocked against the steering wheel due to inertia going forward upon collision of a vehicle, may be prevented.
An U.S. Pat. No. 6,142,510 (Nov. 7, 2000) discloses in detail a structure of steering wheel on which a driver air bag is mounted. The structure thereof will be described in detail in the following.
FIG. 1
a
is a plan view of a structure for a steering wheel of the related art, and
FIG. 1
b
is a cross-sectional view of a structure taken along line A—A of
FIG. 1
a
. Also,
FIG. 1
c
is an exploded, perspective view illustrating the whole construction of an air bag module in
FIG. 1
a.
Referring to
FIG. 1
a
through
FIG. 1
c
, the steering wheel
10
roughly consists of a steering wheel main body
12
, an air bag module
20
mounted within the main body
12
, and an air bag cover
30
for covering the air bag module
20
.
Also, the air bag module
20
includes an air bag
21
, a retainer
22
, an inflator
23
, an inflator housing
24
, and a base plate
25
.
Here, the air bag
21
is fixed on an upper plane of the base plate
25
with the retainer
22
intervened, and the inflator
23
is fit into a back side of the base plate
25
with the inflator
23
accommodated in the inflator housing
24
.
With the inflator
23
and inflator housing
24
fit into the base plate
25
as described above, a nut
27
is fixed to a stud bolt
26
formed on the back side of the retainer
22
, so that assembling of the air bag module
20
is completed.
The air bag module
20
assembled through the foregoing procedure, with being fit into the back side of the air bag cover
30
, is joined to a lateral side of the air bag cover
30
corresponding to a lateral side of the retainer
22
by means of a rivet
34
with a bracket
32
intervened.
After that, an assembly consisting of the air bag module
20
and the air bag cover
30
, is mounted on a central front side of the main body
12
, so that assembling of the whole steering wheel
10
is completed.
In the meantime,
FIG. 2
is another embodiment of the related art, schematically showing a structure in which an air bag module is mounted within a steering wheel.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, an air bag module
50
consists of an air bag
52
, an inflator
54
arranged on a lower portion of the air bag
52
, and an inflator housing
56
for receiving the inflator
54
.
Also, the steering wheel
40
consists of a rim
42
constituting an outer ring, a core
44
forming a central part, and a spoke
46
connecting the rim
42
with the core
44
.
The inflator
54
has a connector
55
for electrically connecting with a controlling unit connected with an impulse detecting sensor within a vehicle, and a horn switch
58
is mounted on an upper portion of the air bag
52
.
The air bag module
50
accommodated in an inside of a side wall part
62
of the air bag cover
60
, is joined integrally to the air bag cover
60
by means of a rivet
72
with an inflator housing
56
, the air bag cover
60
, and a bracket
70
faced each other.
The air bag cover
60
has a side wall part
62
projected vertically downward a predetermined length from the back side of the air bag cover
60
, for receiving the air bag module
50
, and the air bag cover
60
positioned within the side wall part
62
has, in its back side, a tear line (not shown) of a predetermined shape for exploding upon expansion of the air bag
52
.
One end of the bracket
70
is bent outward, for coming in plane contact with a front side of the spoke
46
as shown in
FIG. 2
, so that this bent portion is fixed to the spoke
46
by means of a bolt
74
.
As is revealed in the foregoing construction, the air bag module of the related art is configured such that the air bag cover
60
, the horn switch
58
, the air bag
52
, the inflator
54
, and the connector
55
are sequentially assembled. As the air bag module
50
consisting of combination of a plurality of parts, should be mounted in a limited space within the steering wheel
40
, the size of the air bag module
50
itself is reduced, whereby space for receiving the air bag
52
becomes insufficient and interference with surrounding parts is generated upon unfolding of the air bag
52
. Resultantly, such problems cause deterioration in unfolding performance of the air bag
52
.
Also, as space for operation of the horn switch
58
is narrow and interference with other parts is generated, a problem that malfunction of the horn switch
58
is generated, emerges.
Additionally, due to interference between the connector
55
connected with a lower end of the inflator
54
and an end terminal of a steering wheel shaft
80
positioned on a lower part of the connector
55
, a short circuit phenomenon of the connector
55
is frequently generated, whereby the air bag
52
is not properly operated.
In order to resolve such problems, the inflator
54
within the air bag module
50
should be changed in its specification, and replaced by an inflator of small capacity. But, such measure may cause undesirable results having great effect on operation performance of the air bag module
50
.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
To solve the above-indicated problems, it is, therefore, an object of the present invention to provide a structure for installing an air bag module on a steering wheel for a vehicle capable of improving rigidity of the steering wheel by making change of a core shape possible while improving unfolding performance of the air bag by suppressing interference between parts within the air bag module and by installing the inflator in an interior of the rim of the steering wheel, achieving integration.
The foregoing and other objects and advantages are realized by providing a structure for installing an air bag module on a steering wheel for a vehicle including: a main body consisting of a rim constituting an outer ring, a core constituting a central part, a spoke connecting the rim with the core; an inflator mounted on the rim, one end of which is connected with a connector, and to the other end of which a nozzle for discharging a gas, is provided; an air bag for expanding, provided with the gas from the inflator; a cushion housing for receiving the air bag and is fixed to an upper plane of the core; and a pipe tube for sealing surroundings of the nozzle, and connecting the inflator with the housing; in which the inflator is installed in an interior of the rim.
REFERENCES:
patent: 5066038 (1991-11-01), Frantom et al.
patent: 6142510 (2000-11-01), Endo et al.
patent: 6382661 (2002-05-01), Sutherland
patent: 1078824 (2000-07-01), None
patent: 9-249088 (1997-09-01), None
Cho Byong-Ryong
Kim Ik-Hwan
Kim Joon-Ho
Lim Gyu-Sung
Hyundai Mobis Co., Ltd.
Ilan Ruth
LandOfFree
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