Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-10-22
2004-06-29
Culbreth, Eric (Department: 3616)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S741000, C280S742000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06755438
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates generally to the providing or supplying of inflation gas and, more particularly, to the providing or supplying of such inflation gas via an elongated inflator such as may be desired for certain inflatable passive restraint systems for use in vehicles for restraining the movement of an occupant in the event of a vehicular collision.
It is well known to protect a vehicle occupant by means of safety restraint systems which self-actuate from an undeployed to a deployed state without the need for intervention by the operator, i.e., “passive restraint systems.” Such systems commonly contain or include an inflatable vehicle occupant restraint element, such as in the form of a cushion or bag, commonly referred to as an “airbag cushion,” and a gas generator device, commonly referred to as an “inflator.”
In practice, upon actuation such as when the vehicle encounters a sudden deceleration, such as in the event of a collision, the inflator device serves to provide an inflation fluid, typically in the form of a gas, used to inflate an associated airbag cushion. Airbag cushions are typically used to deploy into one or more locations within the vehicle between the occupant and certain parts of the vehicle interior, such as the doors, steering wheel, instrument panel or the like, to prevent or avoid the occupant from forcibly striking such parts of the vehicle interior.
Various types or forms of such passive restraint assemblies have been developed or tailored to provide desired vehicle occupant protection such as based on either or both the position or placement of the occupant within the vehicle and the direction or nature of the vehicle collision, for example. In particular, driver side and passenger side inflatable restraint installations have found wide usage for providing protection to drivers and front seat passengers, respectively, in the event of head-on types of vehicular collisions. Driver side and passenger side inflatable restraint installations do not, however, generally provide as great as may be desired protection against vehicular impacts inflicted or imposed from directions other than head-on, i.e., “side impacts.” In view thereof, substantial efforts have been directed to developing inflatable restraint installations having particular effectiveness in the event of a side impact.
Upon deployment, the time period during which an airbag cushion remains pressurized is commonly referred to as “stand-up time.” In practice, driver side and passenger side airbag cushions are typically desirably designed to begin deflating almost instantaneously upon deployment such as to avoid presenting an undesirably hard or ungiving surface to an oppositely situated vehicle occupant. However, airbag cushions which provide substantially longer stand-up times may be required or desired in the event of certain accidents or collisions in order to provide a level of occupant protection suitable in the event of such an occurrence. For example, one particularly troublesome form of side impact is commonly referred to as a “roll-over.” In a roll-over incident, a vehicle may undergo a partial, complete or multiple roll-over. As will be appreciated by those skilled in the art, roll-over accidents can be particularly demanding on inflatable restraint systems. In particular, an airbag cushion designed to provide occupant protection in the event of a vehicle roll-over may be required or desired to remain pressurized for an extended or prolonged period of time, as compared to usual or typical driver side and passenger side airbag installations. For example, a roll-over protection side impact airbag cushion may called on to desirably remain pressurized or provide a stand-up time such as extending for as long as about 5 seconds or more.
One particularly effective form of side impact inflatable restraint is the subject of HÅland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,270, issued Aug. 4, 1998, the disclosure of which patent is hereby incorporated by reference herein in its entirety and made a part hereof. Inflatable elements, such as disclosed in HÅland et al., U.S. Pat. No. 5,788,270, may desirably include an inflatable portion formed from two layers of fabric with the front layer and the back layer of the fabric woven together at selected points. In particular embodiments, such selected points are arranged in vertically extending columns and serve to divide the inflatable part into a plurality of vertical parallel chambers. The spaces between the selected points permit internal venting between adjacent chambers of the inflatable element. Particular such inflatable devices/elements, such as utilized in applications to provide protection over an extended area and having a generally planar form, are frequently referred to as “inflatable curtains.”
A one piece woven construction has been found to be a particularly effective method of forming such inflatable element airbag cushions. In particular, one piece woven constructions have been found to provide a relatively low cost method of constructing suitable such airbag cushions which provide desired stand-up times. While inflatable element airbag cushions can, as is known in the art, be fabricated of various materials, nylon 6,6 has been found to be a particularly effective and useful material for use in the making or manufacture of inflatable curtain elements such as described above and having a one piece woven design.
Many types or forms of inflator devices have been disclosed in the art for use in inflating inflatable restraint system airbag cushions. In at least certain particular inflatable passive restraint system installations, an inflator device having a flexible form or construction is desired. For example, in at least certain installations which involve inflatable curtain restraints, the use of an inflator device having a flexible form or construction can desirably serve to permit such an inflator device to more easily conform or fit within a selected storage volume in the vehicle, such as within the vehicle headliner along the roofline. As a result, incorporation and use of flexible inflator devices can provide or result in improved fit or installation within a vehicle.
One particularly common type or form of inflator device used in inflatable passive restraint systems is commonly referred to as a pyrotechnic inflator. In such inflator devices, gas used in the inflation of an associated inflatable element is typically derived from the combustion of a solid pyrotechnic gas generating material. While various combustible pyrotechnic materials are available, gas generant compositions commonly utilized in the inflation of automotive inflatable restraint airbag cushions have previously most typically employed or been based on sodium azide. The gas generated by the combustion of such pyrotechnic materials can be very hot and may contain variously sized particulate material. In practice, it is relatively common to include within such inflator devices one or more filters or the like elements effective to either or both remove such particulate and reduce the temperature of the gas prior to discharge therefrom. Nevertheless, gas discharge temperatures in the range of about 1300 K are common for conventional pyrotechnic inflator devices. In view thereof, it is common to include within an associated airbag cushion a heat resistant coating or one or more strategically placed patches of heat resistant material such as to minimize or avoid direct contact of the hot inflator discharge onto unprotected airbag cushion material. Further, in particular applications which rely on an inflation gas having a significantly elevated temperature, attaining desired stand-up times for or with the associated airbag cushion can prove difficult as the volume of the inflation gas reduces as the gas cools.
Further, while various flexible inflator devices containing or employing solid gas generant materials have been previously proposed, such solid-containing inflator devices have generally been subject to certain limitations or drawbacks,
Green David J.
Rink Karl K.
Young Anthony M.
Autoliv ASP Inc.
Brown Sally J.
Culbreth Eric
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