Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
1998-02-03
2001-10-09
Rice, Kenneth R. (Department: 2167)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
C280S741000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06299203
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF INVENTION
1. Field of Invention
The invention relates to an air bag arrangement in a vehicle, having a gas bag which can be inflated with gas as the result of the triggering of a sensor caused by a gas generator and which, during the inflating, can be advanced into an occupant compartment of the vehicle. Furthermore, the invention relates to a triggering process for an air bag arrangement.
2. Description of Prior Art
Air bag arrangements in vehicles, for example, motor vehicles, will carry out their protective effect only if a person to be protected maintains a certain distance from the arrangement. Such a distance is normally ensured when the seat belt is worn. When the distance between the head and a triggering air bag or gas cushion is too short, for example, in the case of a person not wearing a seat belt who, during a full braking operation preceding the accident, is moved in the direction of the air bag arrangement, the force of the inflating air bag may cause serious injury to the person to be secured which may be as severe as a breaking of the neck.
SUMMARY OF INVENTION
It is an object of the present invention to improve an air bag of the above-mentioned type such that the danger of an injury to a vehicle occupant caused by the air bag arrangement is reduced.
According to the invention, this object is achieved by an air bag arrangement.
Advantageous embodiments of the invention are found in the dependent claims and their combinations.
In the case of the air bag arrangement according to the invention, the moving action of the gas bag controls the ignition of at least a second propellant charge or stage of the gas generator and therefore the further expansion of the gas bag. For this purpose, the air bag arrangement itself determines whether the gas bag can expand and advance in an unhindered manner or whether it encounters an obstacle. In the latter case, the second and/or possibly any additional propellant charge is not ignited. The impact energy of the gas bag on an obstacle, for example, on a vehicle occupant's body or head or on a child seat, is therefore reduced. The air bag arrangement can therefore recognize a vehicle occupant's position on his seat and can correspondingly control the inflating of the gas bag in two or more stages. The invention therefore provides a so-called soft air bag which automatically takes into account an occupant's “out-of-position” condition.
The first stage or propelling charge is preferably ignited electrically. The second or each additional stage of the gas generator can be ignited electrically or mechanically, for example, by means of a percussion igniter.
During its advance generated by the propellant of the first stage, the gas bag preferably determines itself whether an obstacle is situated in its inflating direction and will then, as required, also trigger the second stage or propelling charge. In particular, at least one tension element, such as a rope, a string or a strap, may be provided as the device suitable for this purpose, which, on one side, is fastened to a point at the gas bag which, when the gas bag is advanced, is on the forward front and is immediately decelerated in the event of an impact on an obstacle, and, on the other side, is fastened to a mechanical actuating device for an igniter for the propelling charge of the second or an additional stage. Such a mechanical actuating device may act directly on a mechanically triggerable igniter or be coupled with a switch by means of which an electric igniter can be triggered. The tension element has a defined length and is housed in a, for example, folded or loosely placed manner in the folded gas bag. Such a tension element is provided for each stage, starting from the second stage, and has such a length that a respective successive stage is triggered in that, in the event of an unhindered inflating of the gas back beyond a position in which the tension element of the next following stage is completely tensioned, the tension element triggers the actuating device of the corresponding next stage.
The gas generator expediently has a housing which contains a number of propellant chambers separated by fixed partitions, which number corresponds to the number of stages. The chambers are filled, for example, by a conventional propellant. An igniting device is assigned to each chamber by means of which the propellant contained in the chamber can be ignited. The igniting devices are expediently housed in ignition chambers separated from the propellant chambers so that the filling-in of the propellant and the installation of the ignition devices, such as ignition cartridges or electric ignition devices, can take place in a mutually independent fashion. The gas generator may be constructed as a hybrid generator which has additional ignition chambers filled with a solid explosive agent for igniting the gas and for breaking-open the, for example, axial front-side boundary walls of the propellant chambers. Instead of using one gas generator with several chambers for forming several stages, the latter may also be formed by a corresponding number of separate gas generators.
The mechanical ignition device of the second stage may have a piston or a similar movable element as the actuating device which can be moved from its inoperative position, after the triggering by the gas bag, onto, for example, a ring igniter or percussion igniter of an ignition cartridge in that the movement is transmitted to the piston, for example, by means of the tension element. The piston can also be held in a blocked manner under a spring prestress within the actuating device so that the tension element must only eliminate the blocking and must not transmit the movement energy to the piston. By means of the various mentioned embodiments of the actuating device, any movement direction can be provided for triggering the igniter independently of the direction of the force generated by the tension element. As a result, any mechanical types of igniters can be triggered and therefore used. By means of each of the mentioned methods, mechanical switching devices can be triggered in the actuating device and themselves, in turn, activate an electric ignition.
In order to permit a further movement of the gas bag after the tensioned tension element or rope has moved the piston, the tension element can be uncoupled from the piston. As an alternative, the tension element and/or its fastenings on the gas bag and/or on the actuating device may have a desired breaking or tearing point.
Advantageously, a construction of the actuating or ignition device can be selected which contains an electrically or mechanically ignitable ignition cartridge and a projectile which is moved in an accelerated manner by the ignited ignition cartridge and causes the release of the propellant of the gas generator. Such an actuating or ignition device is simple and operationally reliable and ensures the exact ignition of the gas generator with respect to time. Preferably, the ignition device is suitable for multi-stage gas generators in the case of which it then, in particular, mechanically ignites the second stage or an additional stage of the gas generator or mechanically triggers an electric ignition. The triggering unit of the ignition device will then expediently be triggered by way of a tension element, such as a rope, a string or the like, which is connected with an unfolding and advanceable section of the gas bag so that, when this gas bag is filled with propellant, after a defined movement path, which is determined by the length of the loosely placed tension element, it triggers the ignition device along the whole then tensioned tension element.
The gas generator may, for example, have pressure gas as the propellant for the gas bag or it may be constructed as a hybrid generator which has additional ignition chambers filled with a solid explosive agent for igniting the propellant and for breaking open the chamber walls. Likewise, the gas generator may be a pure solid-fuel generator which has a pyrotechnic solid
Fleit Martin
Inova GmbH Technische Entwicklungen
Jasmin Lynda
Rice Kenneth R.
LandOfFree
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