Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Patent
1998-06-01
2000-07-11
Johnson, Brian L.
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
280735, B60R 2116
Patent
active
060860936
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to an air bag activating system and a strain relief sleeve therefor.
2. Summary of the Prior Art
The present invention concerns, in particular, an air bag activating system in a vehicle having a steering column with a fixed outer shaft containing a cassette which is rotatable with the steering wheel of the vehicle. The cassette contains an electrically actuable air bag activating assembly, a coil of multiconductor flat flexible cable being disposed between the cassette and the outer shaft of the steering column. The coil has a first lead portion connected to crash sensors outside the shaft and a second lead portion extending freely through an opening in the cassette. An electrical connector for mating with the air bag actuating assembly contains electrical terminals each connected to a respective conductor of the second lead portion. The coil of the flat flexible cable is coilable and uncoilable to compensate for the rotation of the steering wheel when the connector is mated with the air bag activating assembly.
According to a prior proposal, the second lead portion is provided with a strain relief sleeve moulded over the second lead portion and being therefore fixed thereto. It may, from time to time, be necessary for the connector to be unmated from the air bag activating assembly in order to allow testing of the crash sensors or, for example, the exchange of a gas generator cylinder of the assembly, for inflating the air bags. Under such circumstances, it may often occur that the connector is pulled in a direction away from the cassette with the risk of the connections between the cable conductors and the terminals of the connector, being impaired, given that the strain relief sleeve is fixed to the second lead portion. These connections will usually be crimped connections according to the teaching of U.S. Pat. No. 4,106,836, for example.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
According to one aspect thereof, the present invention consists of an improvement in an air bag activating system in a vehicle having a steering column with a fixed outer shaft containing a cassette which is rotatable with the steering wheel of the vehicle, and an electrically actuable air bag activating assembly in the cassette, a coil of multi-conductor flat flexible cable between the cassette and the outer shaft having a first lead portion connected to crash sensors outside the shaft and a second lead portion extending freely through an opening in the cassette, an electrical connector for mating with the air bag activating assembly containing electrical terminals each connected to a respective conductor of the second lead portion, the coil of flat flexible cable being coilable and uncoilable to compensate for the rotation of the steering wheel when the connector is mated with said assembly, wherein a strain relief sleeve defining a passage through which a second lead extends is fixed at one end to the cassette and at its other end to the connector where a wave is formed in the second lead within the strain relief sleeve, the strain relief sleeve being stiffly extensible to absorb the load when the connector is pulled away from the cassette and the passage being dimensioned to allow the cable to pass freely therethrough, thereby to relieving the connections between the cable conductors and the terminals of the load when the connector is so pulled.
When the connector is pulled, therefore, cable is drawn to flatten the wave so that no pull is exerted on the connections between the cable conductors and the terminals.
In order to ensure freedom for the strain relief sleeve to stretch without pulling on the cable which would ultimately effect the contact terminations, the passage defined by the strain relief sleeve is preferably has twice the height of the cable thickness which will usually be about 0.25 mm. For economy of the material of the strain relief sleeve, which may, for example, be a soft nylon, the sleeve preferably comprises a pair of spaced, flat lattice s
REFERENCES:
patent: 2434793 (1948-01-01), Feaster
patent: 3395244 (1968-07-01), Koehler
patent: 4758685 (1988-07-01), Pote et al.
patent: 5380224 (1995-01-01), DiCicco
patent: 5794969 (1998-08-01), Sakane
patent: 5823817 (1998-10-01), Pyle
Johnson Brian L.
The Whitaker Corporation
Winner Tony
LandOfFree
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