Land vehicles – Wheeled – Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
2001-07-10
2003-10-14
Dickson, Paul N. (Department: 3618)
Land vehicles
Wheeled
Attachment
Reexamination Certificate
active
06631922
ABSTRACT:
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
1. The Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to vehicular safety. More specifically, the present invention relates to a novel apparatus and method for enhancing the flexibility and cost effectiveness of airbag systems without sacrificing protective capability.
2. The Relevant Technology
The inclusion of inflatable safety restraint devices, or airbags, is now a legal requirement for many new vehicles. Airbags are typically installed in the steering wheel and in the dashboard on the passenger side of a car. In the event of an accident, an accelerometer within the vehicle measures the abnormal deceleration and triggers the expulsion of rapidly expanding gases from an inflator. The expanding gases fill the airbags, which immediately inflate in front of the driver and passenger to protect them from impact against the windshield. Side impact airbags, known as inflatable curtains, have also been developed in response to the need for protection from impacts in a lateral direction, or against the side of the vehicle.
However, despite their enormous lifesaving potential, the use and effectiveness of known side impact airbags have been somewhat limited by a number of problems. One such problem is the speed with which inflation gases must fill the cushion to provide side impact protection.
Side impact cushions are often designed to unfold or unroll downward to inflate beside a person to keep the person from hitting the door or window during lateral impact. Since a vehicle occupant may be leaning forward, reclined in the seat, or at any position between, such cushions are often made somewhat long to ensure that the occupant hits the cushion. If multiple cushions are fed by a single inflator positioned either fore or aft of the cushions, an especially long gas flow path exists between the inflator and the cushion furthest from the inflator. Thus, the outermost extents of the inflatable curtain may receive insufficient inflation gas pressure to inflate to the optimal protective pressure.
Furthermore, the bulk and expense of known inflatable curtains limits the extent to which they can be utilized in compact and economy vehicles. Since each vehicle has a unique interior configuration, different inflatable curtain modules must often be designed for installation in each model. Manufacturing and inventory costs are increased by the necessary customization, particularly in the case of curtain modules in which multiple cushions are to be integrally formed with a single process. Such curtain modules are also inconvenient to ship.
Additionally, some known side impact systems simply are not sturdy enough to adequately protect vehicle occupants. Known cushions may move too much in response to the impact velocity of the vehicle occupant, particularly if there is no window or other surface to provide support for the cushion. Vehicle occupants may thus be injured despite the presence of the airbag.
If the curtain module is designed to provide rollover protection, another danger exists. Particularly in the case of more compact cushions, ahead or limb of an occupant may extend through an opening between or beside the cushion or cushions of the inflatable curtain module, and may then extend outside the vehicle during the rollover. “Occupant excursion” during rollovers is a common cause of automotive fatality, particularly in the case of vehicle occupants that are not wearing a seat belt during the rollover. Occupants can be jostled around considerably within the vehicle during a rollover; consequently, the positioning of cushions directly beside the vehicle seats may not be sufficient to protect against occupant excursion.
Accordingly, a need exists for an apparatus and method capable of enhancing the interchangeability of inflatable curtain modules. Furthermore, a need exists for an apparatus and method capable of supporting airbag cushions during impact to limit the degree to which such cushions are able to move from their deployed position. Yet further, a need exists for an apparatus and method capable of providing a greater degree of protection against occupant excursion, particularly during a vehicle rollover. Still further, a need exists for an apparatus and method capable of decreasing the cost, bulk, shipping expense, and/or installation expense of inflatable curtain modules.
BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The apparatus and method of the present invention have been developed in response to the present state of the art, and in particular, in response to the problems and needs in the art that have not yet been fully solved by currently available inflatable curtains. Thus, it is an overall purpose of the present invention to provide an apparatus and method for enhancing the protective capability, interchangeability, flexibility, and economy of inflatable curtain modules.
According to one configuration, an inflatable curtain module according to the present invention may have two cushions configured to activate to shield vehicle occupants from impact against one or more lateral surface of the vehicle, such as doors and windows. For example, one cushion may be disposed beside a front seat, and the other cushion may be disposed alongside a rear seat. If desired, the cushions may be fed by different inflators, so that inflation gases do not need to travel through one cushion to reach the other. The cushions may be connected together by a tension coupling configured to transmit tension between the cushions and to act as a barrier to occupant excursion.
Each of the cushions may have a top edge and a bottom edge positioned on either side of a protection zone configured to hold the inflation gases. Furthermore, the top and bottom edges may be connected by interior longitudinal edges positioned toward the tension coupling and exterior longitudinal edges positioned away from the tension coupling.
According to one embodiment, the tension coupling may be affixed to the cushions prior to compaction of the cushions. The tension coupling may be affixed to the cushions by, for example, sewing each end of the tension coupling to an interior longitudinal edge of one of the cushions. The cushions and the tension coupling may then simply be compacted together, by folding, rolling, or the like. Thus, when the cushions deploy, the tension coupling may simply deploy in the same fashion.
In operation, the tension coupling may operate in conjunction with tethers that attach each cushion to the vehicle. When the cushions inflate, the cushions may shorten horizontally so that they pull tightly against the tethers. The tension coupling may then transmit the tension from the tethers between the cushions so that both cushions can be held tightly in the proper position against the lateral surface of the vehicle. Additionally, the tension coupling may provide a barrier between the cushions tending to keep the occupants inside the vehicle during a vehicle rollover.
In the alternative, the tension coupling may be configured to be attached to the cushions after the cushions are folded so that the inflatable curtain module can be constructed and shipped in a modular fashion. For example, according to one alternative embodiment, the tension coupling may have a compactible configuration that permits independent compaction and attachment to the cushions after the cushions have been compacted.
More specifically, the tension coupling may have a first expanse and a second expanse, each of which is configured to be attached to both cushions. The first and second expanses may be displaced somewhat from each other, and may be connected by an central portion capable of keeping body parts of vehicle occupants from extending between the first and second expanses after the curtain module has deployed. The central portion may be compacted, for example, through “accordion type” or “zig-zag” folding (a folding pattern with adjacent folds in opposite directions) or rolling.
Each of the cushions may have one or more tabs protruding from the interior longitudinal edge. If desired, each cushion may have two tabs: o
Hess Travis B.
Kottke Kurt E.
Autoliv ASP Inc.
Brown Sally J.
Dickson Paul N.
Erickson James D.
Fleming Faye M.
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