Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1995-03-15
2001-02-06
Boehler, Anne Marie (Department: 3106)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S739000, C280S743100
Reexamination Certificate
active
06183003
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. Field of the Invention:
The present invention relates to an airbag device for protecting a vehicular occupant by softening a shock of a vehicle collision with an airbag inflated when the vehicle collision takes place.
2. Related Art:
An airbag device is already known as a vehicular occupant protective device to protect a vehicular occupant in case of a vehicle collision. The airbag device comprises a sensor for detecting the vehicle collision, an inflator for erupting gas based on a signal from the sensor, an airbag that inflates with the gas erupted from the inflator, a base plate to which the airbag and the inflator are fixed, etc. At the airbag, a hole portion and a vent hole are formed. The hole portion is used to insert a gas erupting portion of the inflator into the airbag, and the vent hole is used to adjust the pressure caused by gas in the airbag.
FIG. 14
shows an example of an airbag device having such a structure. As shown in
FIG. 14
, a retaining section of an airbag
2
is sandwiched between a retainer
13
and a base plate
10
and secured by bolts
15
or rivets. A diameter of a hole portion
11
for inserting a gas erupting portion of an inflator
9
into the airbag
2
is designed as large as or larger than a diameter of the gas erupting portion of the inflator
9
. Thus the gas erupting portion of the inflator
9
can be inserted into the airbag
2
through the hole portion
11
, and the gas from the inflator
9
can be erupted into the airbag
2
.
However, in the airbag device shown in
FIG. 14
, the retaining section of the airbag
2
sandwiched between the retainer
13
and the base plate
10
is extremely small. In case of a vehicle collision, high pressure gas from the inflator
9
to inflate the air bag
2
acts instantaneously inside the airbag
2
, and a stress caused by the high pressure gas concentrates on the retaining section which is secured to the base plate
10
with the bolts
15
. Therefore, if the airbag
2
is damaged by the stress, there arises a possibility that the retaining section of the airbag
2
slips off the base plate
10
.
As another example of prior arts, there is an airbag device disclosed in Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 3-292236. An airbag in the airbag device has at least one slit for inserting an inflator thereinto. The airbag is sandwiched between the inflator and a base plate and secured with bolts.
In the airbag device with the airbag having one slit, there arises a possibility that strength of the airbag decline. That is, if the high pressure gas acts instantaneously inside the airbag, the slit may tear from ends thereof. This causes undesired discharge of the high pressure gas to the outside.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to provide an airbag device which protects a vehicular occupant certainly by improving strength for securing an airbag.
The object is attained by forming a primary hole for enabling insertion of an inflator into an airbag and a secondary hole penetrated by a securing device which secures the inflator to a base plate, and sandwiching a section surrounding the secondary hole between the inserted inflator and the base plate. Thus the section of the airbag sandwiched between the inflator and the base plate can be enlarged, so that the high securing strength of the airbag can be acquired.
The primary hole can comprise a vent hole that is used to discharge the gas erupted by the inflator to the outside of the airbag. This structure need not make a vent hole separately, so that the airbag is made simple and a production cost thereof is lower.
It is desirable to form an cover cloth covering the primary hole of the airbag. The cover cloth which covers the whole primary hole prevents the gas from discharging to the outside of the airbag. In this case the vent hole must be formed independently. Therefore, it is preferable that the cover cloth partly covers the primary hole. Due to such a cover cloth, the primary hole can discharge a suitable amount of the gas to the outside of the airbag in order to adjust pressure in the interior of the airbag. A portion of cover cloth can be formed narrow in order to break the cover cloth in the case where an abnormal rise of the pressure in the interior of the airbag happens.
It can also sew a patch for strengthening the airbag on the periphery of at least one of the primary hole and the secondary hole. This patch and the cover cloth can be composed of a single piece of cloth which is sewed to the airbag so that producing the airbag become easy.
It is preferred to form the secondary hole in the shape of a circle. Thus a stress caused by a high pressure gas from the inflator acts on a periphery of the secondary hole uniformly and the airbag can avoid being damaged.
REFERENCES:
patent: 3573885 (1971-04-01), Brawn et al.
patent: 3820814 (1974-06-01), Allgaier et al.
patent: 3827715 (1974-08-01), Lynch
patent: 4111458 (1978-09-01), Okada et al.
patent: 4828286 (1989-05-01), Fohl
patent: 5016913 (1991-05-01), Nakajima et al.
patent: 5141247 (1992-08-01), Barth
patent: 5201542 (1993-04-01), Thuen et al.
patent: 5277442 (1994-01-01), Cuevas
patent: 5320379 (1994-06-01), Burnard et al.
patent: 5445406 (1995-08-01), Jones
patent: 484527 (1992-05-01), None
patent: 2268124 (1994-01-01), None
patent: 62-141566 (1987-09-01), None
patent: 3-16553 (1991-02-01), None
patent: 3292236 (1991-12-01), None
patent: 4-339047 (1992-11-01), None
patent: 5-270348 (1993-10-01), None
patent: 6286569 (1994-10-01), None
Kaneko Yoshihiro
Matsuhashi Toshiaki
Nakagawa Hajime
Suzuki Tomoji
Boehler Anne Marie
Cushman, Darby & Cushamn
English Peter C.
Nippondenso Co. Ltd.
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